The School of Dentistry will have its Commission on Dental Accreditation Site Visit April 12-14, 2005, less than five months away. Accreditation remains the School’s top priority, and while I am pleased with our preparations to date for the site visit, there is a lot of work still to be done.

In October we hosted an accreditation consultant, Dean Emeritus Paul Robertson, DDS, from the University of Washington. During his two-day visit to UCSF, Dr. Robertson toured clinical and pre-clinical facilities, met at great length with faculty, staff and students, reviewed our self-study documents and gave us a great deal of feedback.

He was impressed by our outstanding educational programs, the professionalism and maturity of our students, the forward-thinking approach of our new curriculum and our positive clinical environment. He said that he could see that our faculty and students work well together in providing patient care, and are genuinely happy to be doing what they’re doing.

Dr. Robertson also illustrated a point that makes me very proud of the UCSF School of Dentistry. He said that if you were to visit any dental school in the world and ask the Dean to name the three best dental schools, that the UCSF School of Dentistry would always be among one of the three mentioned. This outstanding reputation is the result of hard work on all of our parts.

Dr. Robertson also stressed to us the importance of being “game-day” ready for the site team, and being as professional and prepared as we can be for the accreditation visitors. This means being very sharp on observance of infection controls practices and neatness. Also be aware that the site visitors may stop and observe you at work or ask you questions.

Where We Stand
Although four-and-a-half months may seem like a long time, there is still a lot to be done. Assistant Dean for Curricular Affairs Dr. Dorothy Perry is working with the faculty to finalize the self-study documents for the pre-doctoral and specialty programs. When completed, we will make the self-study documents available on the School of Dentistry website.

Our final accreditation consultant will be Dr. Frank Licari, DDS, from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. A clinical specialist, Dr. Licari will be reviewing the clinical sciences curriculum and patient care services. He will interview faculty, staff and students, and provide us with his feedback during his visit on January 13-14, 2005.

Again, I’d like to thank all of you for the hard work you’ve already done in preparation for the important task of accreditation. I know that I can count on your continued support as we enter the home stretch of a successful accreditation process.

Best regards,

Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc

Dean