Dear faculty, staff and students,

I wish you all the best for the holiday season. May the coming year be a good one for you and yours.

Let me begin by reminding us all of our mission:

The UCSF School of Dentistry seeks to improve public health through excellence in teaching, research, patient care, and public service in the dental and craniofacial sciences. We foster an inspired environment where individuals identify themselves as scholars and realize their scholarship through service as clinicians, educators, and scientists.

We have a broad range of activities within the School, all aspects of which contribute to the mission.

It is now five months since I began my work as Interim Dean of the UCSF School of Dentistry, and much has happened in that time. We are on a positive forward trajectory. As with any organization there will always be problems, but we are tackling several head on, with success so far.

I want to highlight a couple of major things that are underway:

• As part of my appointment as Interim Dean, a large portion of the School debt repayment plan was suspended for as long as I hold the position. This has enabled us to be more creative and flexible this academic year.
  
  
• Improving our clinical infrastructure is a priority. We are far advanced with a plan to implement digital radiography in the School, and we know fairly precisely what the costs will be. Equipment is already here for inspection and more is soon to be available, and we intend to proceed with installation within the next calendar year.
  
  
• The search for a new Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs is near completion, and I expect to make an appointment early in 2008.

There will be much more to share in the coming months.

Once again, a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year to everyone.

All the best,

John D.B. Featherstone, MSc, PhD
Professor and Interim Dean