Dean Charles N. Bertolami
President-Elect of ADEA

Dean Charles N Bertolami of the UCSF School of Dentistry has been named President-elect of the 16,000-member American Dental Education Association (ADEA) at the organization's 84th Annual Session and Exhibition in New Orleans, March 17-21, 2007. He remains President-elect until March 2008, at which time he takes office as President of the organization.

Nominated by a Council of all U.S. and Canadian dental deans, his name went forward as a candidate to be voted on by the organization’s House of Delegates, consisting of seven Councils, including Councils of Students, Faculty, Corporations, Allied Health Professionals, Academic Sections, as well as Deans. This, according to Bertolami, is what has made his election so gratifying: “I feel that my selection represents an expression of confidence by my peers. It points to support for many of the things we’ve implemented here at UCSF—such as genuine interdisciplinary collaborations between all the professional schools and the Graduate Division. It also speaks to the importance of bringing students, faculty, the corporate sector and the allied professions into a closer working relationship for the benefit of the public.”

One innovation Bertolami strongly advanced in his candidacy was the inclusion of dentistry in MedEdPortal—a peer reviewed publishing venue for teaching resources created by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). According to Bertolami, “I became aware of this wonderful opportunity by working with AAMC. MedEdPortal will provide a way to reward excellent teachers in the same way universities reward excellent researchers. It will, at last, provide improved opportunities—including promotion and tenure—for non-researchers whose scholarship focuses on teaching.”

“Dr. Bertolami is widely recognized within the dental education community as one of the most innovative and visionary deans in the world” said Dr. Richard Valachovic, ADEA’s Executive Director. “All of us at ADEA are pleased that he is joining the leadership of the association representing all of predoctoral, advanced dental, and allied dental education in North America.”

Named to lead the UCSF School of Dentistry in 1995, Dean Bertolami received his DDS (summa cum laude) from the Ohio State University in 1974, and his DMedSc from Harvard University in 1979. His residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery was at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where he served as chief resident 1979-80. Teaching posts followed in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Connecticut (1980-1983) and Harvard (1983-1989), and he was appointed Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UCLA in 1989. He has also served a term as President of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) 2002-03.