UCSF Dean leaves UC to become NYU Dean

[Angle Jr.]

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NEWS - We just got this email from NYU President:
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We are very pleased to announced that Charles N. Bertolami, D.D.S., D.Med.Sc.,
has been named Dean of the NYU College of Dentistry, effective September 1, 2007.

The Dental College has been a true success story. Under Mike Alfano’s deanship,
it went through a remarkable transformation: there was a renewed and powerful
emphasis on research, the facilities were upgraded, the role of dentistry was
expanded, new healthcare collaborations were envisioned, the quality of students
improved greatly, and the College of Nursing became part of the Dental College.
Finding a successor who could sustain that momentum was a significant challenge.

Charles Bertolami is ideally suited not only to sustain it, but accelerate it.
We believe he is a leader who can set an agenda for excellence in research,
education, and clinical care delivery and conceive of new possibilities for the
role of the Dental and Nursing professions within the health care field.

He has succeeded at every challenge he has taken on, and we are confident he
will use his intelligence, wisdom, and experience to take the NYU Dental College
to the next level.

Dr. Bertolami is currently Dean and Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
at the University of California-San Francisco School of Dentistry, posts he has
held since 1995. During the 12 years he has served in those posts, the UCSF
School of Dentistry has led the nation in overall NIH funding for dental
schools. In addition to expanding the school’s research capacity, he has also
enhanced the school’s clinical and teaching programs, including renovating
clinics and laboratories; implemented a new curriculum reinforcing integration
of basic and clinical sciences in dental education; established and expanded
joint degree programs; and established a year-long post-baccalaureate program
for students from economically or educationally disadvantaged groups.

Many thought it would be impossible to convince Charles Bertolami to leave the
University of California, but we are glad to report that he was drawn to NYU by
the same attributes that have brought us so many outstanding faculty members and
deans: the quality and character of the faculty, the students, the staff, and
the senior administration at NYU, who impress everyone with their excellence,
their commitment, and their vision. It is a tribute to NYU in general and the
Dental College in particular that he has chosen to join us as a colleague. We
ask the NYU community to join us in congratulating Dr. Bertolami and welcoming
him to our university.

http://www.nyu.edu/dental/news/index.html?news=147

 

[vishrava]

I'm sad to see him leave UCSF. He was a great dean for us the past 12yrs and a charismatic and eloquent speaker.

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Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff:



I write to inform you that I have decided to accept appointment as Dean of the New York University College of Dentistry effective September 1, 2007. It has been my distinct privilege and honor to serve as Dean at UCSF for these past twelve years. However, I feel the time has come to move on and accept new challenges. I have been humbled by the enthusiasm and confidence shown in me by the faculty and administration at NYU and welcome the opportunity to lead another fine institution. This combined with my and Linda's roots in the East have led me to make this difficult decision.



I will be working with many of you in the next few months to advance the following items of open business:



1. Many of you know that the chancellor assigned to the School of Dentistry approximately 10,000 square feet of research space on the 15th floor of the Health Sciences East (HSE) tower. We had hoped to fund the renovation of this floor through a collaborative financing arrangement similar to what was accomplished for the HSW6 renovation. The bulk of the financing would have come from a combination of sources, including the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). Unfortunately, federal budgetary constraints prevented NCRR from funding the project. Thus, we have spent some considerable amount of time seeking alternative financing arrangements. I am pleased to tell you that the chancellor’s office is supportive of a petition on our behalf to the Regents to allow us to seek a $10 M long-term, low interest loan to allow this construction to proceed. If approved we will be in a position to commence the renovation of this space--targeted to be the home of the UCSF Center for Craniofacial and Mesenchymal Biology.



2. Many of you may know that the dental school is currently seeking from the Medical Center a sizeable amount of General Medical Education (GME) support money that we feel the School is owed, based on a recent audit of the Medical Center by the Office of the Inspector General. While I cannot at this point know the exact outcome of our claims, I am happy to say that the chancellor's office has agreed to adjudicate the matter. We submitted our case by the deadline of April 30 and expect the matter to be resolved by June 15. I do believe that, given the findings of the OIG, the dental school has a very strong case.



3. I know many of you have had concerns over the difficulty of finding chairs for the Departments of PRDS and Orofacial Sciences. I do expect a recommendation soon from the two search committees. I wanted you to know that in my annual budget request to the chancellor, I have requested a recruitment package for the PRDS chair. We already have funding for the recruitment of the chair of Orofacial Sciences. The exceptional financial management of Sr. Associate Dean Alexis Purcell has cut the School's outstanding obligation to the chancellor's office in half over the past two years. These payments will become significant surpluses when our obligation to the chancellor's office has been paid off in two more years.



4. Associate Dean Joel White has done an outstanding job in working with you to increase clinic productivity and decrease costs. I would like to urge everyone to cooperate with Dr White to the greatest extent possible. If he is able to continue to enhance the productivity of our clinics, it will add to an anticipated GME settlement, and surpluses expected to materialize after our obligation to the chancellor is fulfilled, placing the School in an exceptionally strong financial position.



I am also especially grateful to Associate Deans Caroline Damsky, Dorothy Perry, Alexis Purcell and to former Deans for Academic Affairs and Financial Affairs, Troy Daniels and Julian Ponce for their dedication and extraordinary contributions on behalf of the School.



I want to thank the faculty, students, and staff of the UCSF School of Dentistry, who should take justifiable pride in their many accomplishments. Over the 12 years that I have been privileged to serve as Dean, the UCSF School of Dentistry has led the nation in overall NIH funding among dental schools. At its most recent accreditation site visit, it had a perfect report—0 recommendations and 17 commendations; its students receiving among highest scores in every external, objective measure of performance. In addition to expanding the School’s research capacity, the past 12 years have also seen enhancement of the School’s clinical and teaching programs, including renovating clinics and laboratories; implementing a new curriculum reinforcing integration of basic and clinical sciences; establishing and expanding joint degree programs, including a DDS-MBA; initiating a self-supporting International Dentist Program (IDP), and creating a year-long post-baccalaureate program for students from economically- or educationally-disadvantaged groups (the first in dentistry nationally, and the first such program on the UCSF campus). The School’s endowment has grown to approximately $25 M, with the increase in Endowed Chairs and Distinguished Professorships from one in 1995 to eleven today—many of them funded at $2.5 M each.



I will plan on providing you with periodic updates on these matters over the next several weeks.



With very best wishes,

Charles

 

[Angle Jr.]

Thank you for sharing, vishrava. NYU students would appreciate the new dean even more when they understand the sentiments at UCSF. Thanks again.