Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and is as excited about the New Year as we are here in Yakima. 2024 will be a very busy and important year for our school!
Since our last email, much has happened in the development of our new dental school. Featured in this eNewsletter, you will meet our newest team member, Dr. Gary Pape, whom we are very excited to have on board to lead the very important development of our new faculty onboarding and calibration program. You will also read about our groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the start of the construction of Delta Dental Equity Hall. We have been busy interviewing for the first group of faculty who will be teaching our students in Yakima and at our three community-based clinics. Ms. Lolinda Turner has been very active visiting high schools and colleges in the state, bringing our message of career opportunities in dentistry and the special educational program we are developing. Finally, the school hosted the first Leadership Council meeting in early November, bringing together a group of exceptional people to help and advise the school as it prepares for its first cohort of students (which will arrive a short 18 months from now!). We will be sharing more about the Leadership Council in the future.
Returning to student recruitment for a moment, the SDM signed off its first admissions pathway program with Walla Walla University. This program will allow students who have accumulated all the required biomedical science prerequisites and credit hours to apply for our program during the third year of college and, assuming acceptance, allow them to enroll a year early. Once they complete the first year of the DMD program, the SDM will provide the first-year transcript, and their university will award them a bachelor’s degree. We have other schools currently in progress with similar programs and will share the news when these partnerships are finalized.
Last and most importantly, the SDM heard from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) that our on-site visit by the review team will happen on April 2-3, 2024. The SDM team is gearing up and preparing for this important visit. We will conduct a “mock review and visit” with a group of expert consultants in mid-February to be as well prepared as possible for the actual CODA site visit.
In closing, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the SDM team, our PNWU colleagues, our community partners, the WSDA, and Delta Dental of Washington for their unwavering support of our school. Having all of you in our corner makes my job a lot easier! Best wishes and health to everyone in 2024!
