HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | CANADA B3H 1W2 | +1 (902) 494-2824
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October 2009 I wish to welcome new full/part-time faculty members: Aimee Dawson, DCS (PT) Dr. Richard Price has been asked to give a keynote address at the upcoming ADA Meeting. Dr. Blaine Cleghorn announced that all full and part-time faculty members who teach in Dentistry can be provided with a license to the Vital Source Bookshelf. Congratulations to Nancy Neish and colleagues in the School of Dental Hygiene for the launch of the Laptop Program in DH 1. Congratulations to Dr. Debora Matthews as the recipient of the CDA Award of Merit. Congratulations to Dr. Mary McNally, also, the recipient of the CDA Award of Merit. Both faculty members and our colleagues will receive their award in early November at the CDA General Meeting in Ottawa. Congratulations to Dr. Reg Goodday as an advocate for wellness, with a feature article “Living Health in Atlantic Canada”, “Why snoring is no joking matter”. The article most certainly has raised awareness on this common health issue. Congratulations to Dr. Christian Marquez as Head of the Division of Periodontics. I think we all agree Dr. Marquez is very deserving of the position and we look forward to working with him in this capacity. Congratulations to Dr. Carl Canning who has been elected as Vice Chair of Senate (Academic Administration). Dr. David Precious has been named the recipient of the A. Gordon Archibald Alumnus of the Year Award to be presented at the Dalhousie Annual Dinner on October 8, 2009. This award recognizes an extraordinary alumnus who has set a high standard for volunteerism to Dalhousie University. Specifically, this award recognizes and pays tribute to those individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of Dalhousie through their dedication, generosity and commitment to the values of the University. Congratulations to Dr. Reg Goodday for recently receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. He has served as Examiner, Chief Examiner and Examiner-in-Chief over the past sixteen years. This award has only been presented three times in its forty-five year old history. Dr. David Precious was the invited speaker at the Orthognathic Surgery Seminar “The Wide Scope of Orthognathic Surgery” in Belem, Brazil on September 14, 2009. Drs. Precious, Goodday, Davis, Morrison and Robertson presented at the American Association or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, October 14-17, 2009. Drs. Precious, Goodday, Morrison and Davis will return to Viet Nam on November 23 to perform charity cleft surgery. Many of our faculty members have been very busy with their research, service and professional obligations during the summer months. I am aware of numerous presentations and workshops etc. that you have been participated in. Individually and collectively, I wish to make you aware of the significant contribution you make to this Faculty and world of dentistry/dental hygiene and the dental profession in general. For a small Faculty, we are involved on all levels Faculty, university, provincial, national and beyond. Some Notes on University Activities 1) Senior Administrators Retreat President’s Strategic Plans 2009-2013. Thank you to everyone who participated in making submissions to me. I reviewed all of our responses to the questions and sent the final report well within our time frame. We spent a significant amount of time fine tuning the document and you will soon see the result from President Traves and open discussion will be encouraged via Town Hall Meetings and a Blog. I encourage you to participate. I think this process is timely, for I wish to review our Strategic Plan/ “Academic Plan” and have started the discussion at the Deans’ level. Over the next few months I hope to roll out a process where we, as a Faculty, review and update our Academic Plan to prepare us with a template for the future. Government relations was another topic discussed at the Retreat, and it was suggested that individuals/groups should work with the Vice-Presidents and the Assistant VP for Government Relations, Gillian Wood, if approaching particular government ministers offices. The University Work Place Survey is available on H.R. Website and some comments include: 1) People are proud to work at Dalhousie University. 2) If the unit has demonstrated increase activity and accomplishments, the satisfaction level increases. 3) Celebrating successes are recognized. 4) Communication was somewhat of an issue with regards to strategic direction, engaging senior administration and orientation of new faculty. There will be follow-up Faculty based data and feedback via a presentation to faculty and staff with time for discussions. In the area of research, a video has been produced which recognizes Dentistry’s contributions and our very own Dr. Filiaggi is featured. Hats off to us and Mark! Funding The new NDP Government is fully funding the 2010-2011 budget year and will pre-pay the $341 million in full in March 31, 2010. 2011-2012 will require a new MOU and budget issues. Senate Meeting Update Due to the H1N1 preparations, the Senate suspended the requirement for medical certificates for illness in Term 1 and the decision will be reviewed in December for the Winter Term. Senate also put a call out for Honorary Degree Nominations for Convocations Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. Forms are available through the Senate Office and on the website. I would appreciate faculty members giving careful thought to honorary degree recipients, particularly looking toward our 100th anniversary year convocation in 2012. The United Way Challenge had its kickoff October 5. The Deans’ Challenge is on and I will be welcoming other Deans to try and out-do us in participation. We won last year with a 29% participation rate. Let’s raise the bar this year and keep the Turtle here in Dentistry. Friday, October 16th Open House was an outstanding success again and I wish to thank everyone for their help in making this such a success Dentistry and Dental Hygiene. The Family Photo and the Photo Composite: Both were an outstanding success. Thank you for your participation. The Faculty of Dentistry Composite is shaping up. If you have not had your photo done, please see Karen and/or Marilyn. Capital Campaign: Our university goal is $250 million and at this point in time we have commitment to $100 million so the leadership/quiet phase is going well. Again, thank you for all you do and I wish you a healthy and prosperous/uneventful year and remember what David Brink said, “A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him”. |
