Regent Reflection

Lance Rucker, Regency 8

As my tenure on the Board of Regents comes to a close, it provides a time for reflection on lessons learned. The College continues to be an organization of leaders who have banded together to identify challenges and opportunities for the whole of the profession, the whole of society. We embrace change, not as a series of obstacles but as a series of opportunities to make the world a better place for everyone. It is this spirit of positive leadership that distinguishes this College, and the Foundation which supports it, and is all the more reason the entire Fellowship can be especially proud of the accomplishments of the past four pivotal years.

A full catalog of the activities of the College and its Board of Regents during the past four years will fill a sizable book volume. The College progress during this period has been extraordinarily impressive, especially considering pandemic shutdowns and general societal fears and uncertainties. Let’s take a look at a few of the expansive projects and activities in which the College has been boldly and assertively participating:

1. The College has revised its approach to communications to that of a coordinated Communications Team and accelerated and broadened its use of social media and other internet-based media platforms. This is not merely an effort on behalf of the College and Foundation entities to be “modern,” it is a recognition of the changing nature of how, when, where, and why people communicate.

2. ACD policy revisions now allow consideration for Fellowship of dentists from broader professional organizational backgrounds than previously allowed, and this has already enhanced the diversity and inclusivity of our Fellowship. Our umbrella of Fellowship has expanded to include all dentistry, beyond the leaders in the ADA and CDA.

3. The Board of Regents directly addressed outdated financial and operational practices and brought our operations in line with broadly accepted best practices with a reenergized commitment to our fiduciary responsibilities. The Board of Regents is consulting with national and regional non-profit organizational experts, and last year adopted Best Financial Practices Guidelines, our first audit charter, and will soon adopt a more formal internal controls document. Special thanks are due to Vice President and former College Treasurer Robert Faiella, a wellestablished leader within organized dentistry who brought his training and insights to bear for the framing of the financial practices policy.

4. The Board of Regents has engaged deeply in strategic planning to identify changes and activities that will best maintain the highest level of agility and success as we deal with the kaleidoscopic shifts in our society and its healthcare expectations, and as we identify and support our profession’s best proactive responses to the challenges we all face.

5. The College is completing arrangements for an August 2024 Ethics Summit on Medical-Dental Integration to make dentistry a more equal partner in healthcare. The College has been involved in organizing high level, issue-crucial summits in decades past to foster engagement amongst many organizations, including health professional, governmental, industrial, educational, and public advocacy groups, to provide opportunities for interprofessional discussions of matters related to ethics, professionalism, and leadership both nationally and internationally.

To be sure, Fellowship in the American College of Dentists provides each of us with an extraordinary launch pad and a powerful base of contacts for further strengthening our associations, which offers us together the best and most fruitful prospects of having dentistry continue as a well-integrated and wellrespected health profession.

6. The College has more deeply incorporated its awareness of the fundamental issues related to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, both within the College and in our interactions with the many organizations and businesses with which we deal. The Board is carefully and intentionally bringing forth policies which actively “walk the talk” of these important issues in health care. Related to this, we have enriched and strengthened the growing number of dedicated dental Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA) chapters. They are our future, and reaching across generations to

7. The shared experience of Fellowship is through the work of ACD Sections. Section leadership is being more formally and positively supported thanks to increased capacity throughout the Fellowship with ZOOM and facilitated social media communications. Former Regent Paula Friedman was a longtime supporter of the key role for Sections in the achievement of the College mission, and her recently created Section Leadership Development Fund will have powerful effect in further strengthening the Sections, and from there the College.

To be sure, Fellowship in the American College of Dentists provides each of us with an extraordinary launch pad and a powerful base of contacts for further strengthening our associations, which offers us together the best and most fruitful prospects of having dentistry continue as a well-integrated and well-respected health profession.