GSDM Holds Faculty and Staff Meeting
On Tuesday, June 14, 2016, faculty and staff at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) gathered in the auditorium at 670 Albany Street for the GSDM spring/summer Faculty and Staff Meeting.
Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter started the meeting by welcoming the nearly 150 faculty and staff in attendance. He then asked all of GSDM’s faculty and staff who joined the School after the date of the last Faculty and Staff Meeting, December 15, 2015, to stand and introduce themselves.
Dean Hutter then recognized the winners of the Student Staff Recognition Award: Sylvia Ruffin, Pre-doctoral Endodontic Clinical Coordinator; and Karen Anderson, Post-doctoral Dental Assistant in the Post-doctoral Endodontic Patient Treatment Center. Ms. Ruffin and Ms. Anderson were nominated by students/residents as staff members who have gone above and beyond in their work and who have greatly enriched the student experience.
Next, the winner of the 2016 Kristen Donovan Award for Excellence in Service was announced. The award honors the memory of Senior Patient Coordinator Kristen Donovan, who sadly passed away on Thursday, May 29, 2012. The award is given to an exceptional staff member who has been at GSDM for less than five years.
The 2016 Kristen Donovan Award for Excellence in Service went to Patient Relations Manager, Mr. Wilemsky Jameau.
Dean Hutter read several of the recommendations that Mr. Jameau received for the award to the audience.
Dean Hutter read an excerpt from a recommendation from Mr. Jameau’s former manager, Director of Compliance and Quality Management Mr. John Reilly. It read, “We should consider ourselves lucky and privileged to have Mr. Jameau as a member of our team. It is individuals such as Mr. Jameau that push us all to be better people. I know that working with Mr. Jameau has made me a better person and I consider myself fortunate to have him as a member of my team.”
Mr. Jameau then took a photo on stage with Dean Hutter as well as Kristen Donovan’s father, mother and sister.
The 2016 Summer Faculty and Staff Meeting then proceeded as updates on nine topics were presented by faculty and staff.
Dr. Philip Trackman delivered an update on the GSDM Faculty Forum in which he emphasized the importance of the GSDM Faculty Forum blog and urged faculty and staff to check it out.
Ms. Alexa Styrczula, Group Practice Administrator, delivered an update on the GSDM Staff Forum in which she explained that three of the forum’s interest groups—Nutrition Group, Book Club, and Yoga it Out!—will be having meetings soon. Ms. Styrczula also explained that the forum was successful in installing three new water fountains in the School. Ms. Styrczula was filling in for Ms. Janine Lipsky, Operations Manager in Continuing Education.
Ms. Catherine Sarkis, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, delivered an update on GSDM Admissions for the 2016–2017 Academic Year. Ms. Sarkis provided the attendees of the Faculty and Staff Meeting with an overview of several statistics for the incoming classes.
Dr. John Guarente, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Clinical Professor in the Department of General Dentistry, delivered an update on GSDM’s Office of Clinical Affairs.
Dr. David Russell, Director of the Group Practice Experience and Team Leadership and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry, delivered an update on GSDM’s Group Practice Model.
Mr. John Reilly, Director of Compliance and Quality Management, delivered an update on GSDM Compliance and Quality.
Dr. Celeste Kong, Professor and Chair of the Department of General Dentistry and Director of Pre-doctoral Restorative Dentistry, presented about “GSDM on the Cusp of Change with Digital Dentistry.” Dr. Kong talked about the prevalence of digital technology and how important it is that GSDM continue to evolve in this ever-changing environment.
Mr. Tim McDonough, Executive Director of Finance & Operations, delivered and update on GSDM Capital Improvements. Mr. Mcdonough provided an overview of several new capital improvement projects.
Dr. Cataldo Leone, Professor in the Department of Periodontology, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, delivered an update on GSDM’s Pre and Post-doctoral Educational Outcomes. Dr. Leone explained that GSDM is making fantastic strides in improving its educational outcomes based on yearly survey results from GSDM students. One especially positive result of these surveys was a dramatic increase in the number of GSDM students who said they were satisfied with their chair utilization and assignments.
After all the presentations, Dean Hutter thanked the presenters and, as with past Faculty and Staff Meetings, delivered an update as to where GSDM is with its quest to build a new facility for the School.
Dean Hutter explained that GSDM will no longer be seeking to purchase space in the soon-to-be-renovated Newton Pavilion and will instead be working with Boston University to focus on a project that will utilize our existing building and land surrounding the current 100 East Newton Street Facility.
Dean Hutter then provided a few closing remarks, in which he thanked all the faculty and staff for their attendance and urged everyone to ask any questions they may have about the new building project or anything GSDM related.
“I cannot stress enough how important our faculty and staff meetings continue to be,” said Dean Hutter. “It is crucial for any successful organization to build a strong sense of community and understanding about each other’s projects and accomplishments. I am incredibly pleased with the information provided by the presenters at the meeting, and excited to continue working toward achieving our vision of being the premier institution promoting excellence in dental education, research, oral healthcare, and community service in order to improve the overall health of the global population.”