| Journal |
Fall 2001
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Alumni president's message
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| Daniel Kunihira, SD'74, talks to the incoming dental class about his experiences as a student, and describes some of the many services provided by the Alumni Association to student and members. |
As you read this message we are well into the fall of 2001,
a year that has seen unparalleled acts of terrorism and death in New York,
Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. As a result, we have also seen an
unparalleled growth of national unity and patriotism as we face an unknown
and troubling future. In spite of the uncertainties of the future, President
Bush has encouraged us all to lead normal lives and to return to the pursuits
of our daily activities.
One of my pursuits in my daily life this year has been the responsibilities
of the Alumni Association as we continue to address the needs of our great
alma mater. Alumni and students have a vested interest in helping our
School to become the premier Christian-oriented dental education institution
in the world.
According to American Dental Association data, dental schools are in an
infrastructure crisis as evidenced by a 75 percent increase in tuition
and fees in the past seven years, while actual costs to the dental school
have risen even more sharply. The number of full-time faculty has declined
10 percent during the past decade, with more than 400 vacancies in faculty
positions throughout the nation. The data also indicates that only modest
attention has been paid to improvements in the physical plant and equipment
of most dental schools.
Dr. Balit, who chaired the ADA Dental Education Summit subcommittee on
the cost of dental
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| Your financial commitments help fund student mission clerkships, unique to our school, that allow students to help in overseas clinics and gain invaluable clinical experience. Here a group including faculty, staff, and students, meets to discuss upcoming clerkship opportunities. |
education states that “The overall health of the dental
profession depends on the quality of education for the next generation
of dentists, and the new technologies and new treatment methods coming
out of dental schools. If that is jeopardized, we will pay a terrible
price.”
Directly affecting the quality of education would be the inability of
any institution to fill faculty positions. The number one reason cited
for unfilled faculty positions in dental schools is the salary/budget
limitations.
Dr. Balit further states that the financial problems of private dental
schools are more serious than those that are publicly funded, citing that
the seven dental schools that closed in the past 15 years were all private
schools.
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| Your donations were responsible for the sizeable commitment made to the School of Dentistry Building Project which includes new clinic additions. |
More than ever before, alumni of LLUSD have before us a
tremendous challenge to ensure that the alma mater that educated each
of us with skills that provide the means to not only minister to those
patients in need, but also to afford a comfortable means of living remains
a viable educational institution in the decades to come. LLUSD needs our
loyal monetary support to help fund various aspects of education that
make us unique in the dental educational field. Your financial commitments
are helping fund student mission clerkships, unique to our School, that
allow students to help in overseas clinics and to gain invaluable clinical
experience. The Faculty Sponsorship is a program that helps amortize loan
burdens that young faculty are strapped with as they commit to an academic
career. Your financial support also is responsible for Research Scholarships
for our dental students as they delve into research-oriented projects.
Your donations through the Alumni Association were also responsible for
the sizeable commitment we made to the School of Dentistry Building Project
which includes new clinic additions. Each of these projects directly benefit
our student population—the most valuable members of the School family.
Continued funding is needed toward the Student Loan Fund which currently
has about $6 million (raised by alumni and friends of LLUSD) in circulation.
An even greater need is an the new Scholarship Endowment, which has not
been fully funded as of yet. This much-needed resource will help us attract
those very bright students who want a Christian dental education but lack
financial backing. This highly desirable group of young people are currently
lost to state schools which are financially more attractive
| The objective of our campaign would be to obtain three-year pledges for the Annual Fund, with pledges at $300 or more per year being eligible for a challenge grant, to increase the Annual Fund totals from challenge grant dollars. This is a grand opportunity for alumni to contribute substantially and to help our students, faculty, and our alma mater to continue in the quest to become a better insitution and to maintain it's position as a premier educational center. |
The Annual Fund Gold Campaign, has been launched in honor of the School
of Dentistry’s 50 years of existence, with the Golden Anniversary
to be celebrated in 2003.
The Strategic Planning Process resulted in a grand celebration, held at
the University Church Monday morning, October 1.
The accomplishments and visions for the future were shared by students,
faculty, administration, staff, patients, and alumni. An exciting process
by which representatives of the School and alumni family can participate
in and actively help shape the future direction of our alma mater is in
place and functioning.
The Alumni Association owes a great debt of gratitude to Drs. Dan Fischer
(SD’74) and Curtis Wiggins (SD’74) for the countless hours they
spent helping initiate the process and representing the Alumni Association’s
viewpoints on this committee. Both are out-of-staters (Utah and Idaho),
and yet they shared such commitment they sacrificed their precious time
for this vital process.
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| Your finanical support is responsible for Research Scholarships for our dental students. |
Dr. Wiggins, a practicing pediatric dentist, disrupted his practice time,
and Dr. Dan Fischer, president of Ultradent Corporation, sacrificed valuable
time from his already busy corporate schedule. Both of them, at their
own expense, flew numerous times to attend the meetings and retreats dedicated
to the strategic planning process.
We appreciate their dedication and valuable input as they exchanged viewpoints
from the alumni perspective with their colleagues at the administrative,
faculty, student, and staff levels.
The Alumni Association applauds our School for embarking on a great journey
in a new direction. We solicit your thoughts and prayers for your School
and your Alumni Association, and enlist your financial support to help
make those collective dreams at the School become a reality.
Dan Kunihira, SD’74
President
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