ViewPoint

Some of you may recall that in April 1983, our nation failed to answer the famous congressional report, “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform.” I especially recall these words in the report:

“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves.”

In the ensuing 24 years, unfortunately it has not gotten any better. The following observations were made from a recently published book entitled “Declining By Degrees: Higher Education at Risk” (Richard H. Hersh and John Merrow, editors, Palgrave MacMillan, 2005).

• “In our study of higher education, we found an insidious erosion of quality that we now believe places this nation at risk.
• “The threat, it seems to us, is more serious today than it was in 1983 when the famous ‘A Nation at Risk’ warned that our schools were ‘drowning in a rising tide of mediocrity.’
• “Our K-12 system, although somewhat improved from that time, continues to wallow in mediocrity and now higher education is suffering from the same condition. The tide continues to rise, the rot is creeping upward, and time is running out.”

“The rot is creeping upward, and time is running out”鈥攁nd so it is for dental education as well.

Aging facilities, aging professoriate, 400 unfilled positions nationally, widening discrepancy between income of educators and clinicians (especially specialists), aging and outdated technology, and escalating costs.

This country has to reset its priorities.

Educators and university professors’ compensation is not indicative of the level of responsibility they hold in their hands every day. They provide a foundation and set high expectations for students in order to challenge their minds and meet their goals.

Instead, we pay movie stars and athletes, who, while skilled in their own profession, do not positively affect the health and well-being of the population the way dentists and teachers do on a regular basis.

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate and said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” In the years ahead, we will have the opportunity to do something as bold. We will have an opportunity to throw off the shackles that bind us to the status quo, to take major risks, and to make a real difference.

The American Dental Association and the American Dental Association Foundation leadership have decided to take the road less traveled by, the one less comfortable, but the one that will ultimately take us to the other side of our Berlin Wall.

Together, they have created a national effort to support dental education and our profession. The initiative is Dental Education: Our Legacy鈥擮ur Future and it is designed to assist dental schools, dental trade associations and charitable foundations with their own fundraising efforts. Ultimately, we hope to collectively raise $1 billion on behalf of dental education.

I am excited and I am energized because we are on the brink of a movement that will have awesome results for our profession. Our work to enhance our educational system is just beginning, and we are on the cusp of a movement that is historic and unprecedented.

You must be a part of this transformation. What we will be involved with over the next few years is not a spectator sport. Is it risky? You bet!

But where there is no risk, there is little reward.

What our dental world will look like in 50 or 100 years because of our efforts will significantly depend on our ability to succeed in this effort and move mountains of doubt and apathy, while creating a passion for philanthropy.

Think positively about giving to your alma mater or an association focused on alleviating the challenges that our dental education system faces. Just as you write a check for rent, write a monthly check to those educational institutions that made you who you are today. Believe … you will feel great.

I do not have to tell you why a strong dental education enterprise is important. It ensures the future of dentistry as a learned profession. Most important, it secures the integrity of the profession.

Mediocrity just is not good enough. The leaders of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were unable or unprepared to respond to the challenges confronting dental education.

I know what you are thinking鈥?We cannot do it. Art cannot do it. He is only one person.”

Soon you will realize, “Success comes in cans鈥攁nd failure comes in can’ts.”

Do not underestimate the power of “one,” or how effective you can be.

• A woman named Rosa Parks changed segregation laws because she dared to sit in the front of the bus.
• Just recently, Al Gore started a worldwide movement promoting cultural change in order to safeguard the earth from the effects of global warming.
• Ralph Nader started the consumer protection movement when he was in his 20s. The movement has saved thousands of lives and prevented millions of injuries.

I know that our profession has the compassion and the dedication for the type of effort that is required to achieve our goals both in our professional lives and in our community. Let me share with you a short saying by an unknown author:

“From bondage comes spiritual faith. From spiritual faith comes courage. From courage comes liberty. From liberty comes abundance. From abundance comes complacency. From complacency comes apathy. From apathy comes dependency. From dependency comes bondage.”

I acknowledge the current American Dental Association leadership and the ADA Foundation leadership for accepting the challenge as we move forward with our effort to support dental education by promoting a culture of philanthropy and raising the awareness for the challenges our profession is facing.

Together, I believe we can move mountains. Never underestimate the power of “one.”

Dr. Dugoni is the president of the ADA Foundation and a past aDA president (1988-89).