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(Music Playing)
Hi, I'm Dr John Valenza, Interim Dean
of the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston
Welcome to what we hope will be the first
of many video podcasts featuring a variety of issues
that, we believe, are important to
all of us and the future of the school.
In the coming months we will feature things like the new building,
change and innovation, research and, of course,
the faculty, staff and students of the Dental Branch.
Being new to this position,
and for those who recently joined the Dental Branch family,
let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I'm a native Houstonian, attended the University of Texas at Austin
and I'm a 1981 graduate of the Dental Branch.
I was actually in the class that organized the first
Dental School Olympics in Texas, if you can believe that.
After completing a residency in general practice
at the University of Tennessee Hospital at Knoxville
I practiced five years in the Nashville area
and taught part time at Meharry School of Dentistry.
Since 1987 I've been a full time
member of the Dental Branch faculty
First as GPR director, then as clinical dean,
and more recently, as executive associate dean
But among the fabulous opportunities I have had at our school
most of you probably know me best
over the past five years or so for projects
such as faculty practice, clinical simulation,
EPR, digital imaging, new operatory equipment
and, of course, the new building.
So, where do we start?
Well, I've spent the past several weeks
positioning myself to be able to hit the ground running.
That means first replacing myself by assigning most,
but not all, of my duties as executive associate dean.
Since May 26th, the division of Educational Support Services,
led by Mr. Jonathan Green and his fine staff
now reports to Dr Peggy O'Neill, associate dean for patient care.
Responsibility for coordinating with the Health Science Center facilities
for the current building has shifted to Dr Art Jeske, associate dean for strategic planning.
So, no, you won't be seeing any emails from me
regarding broken pipes or falling marble. At least not for a while.
Last, but not least, is the division of Educational and Technology Services,
or ETS, headed up by Dr David Taylor
I'm pleased to announce,
especially to those of you who have been here for more than three years,
that Dr Peter Triolo is returning to the school full time
to teach and take over this responsibility for ETS.
So Dr Taylor and his great staff will
be reporting to Dr Triolo, who starts June 22nd.
An exception to all of these changes
is that I will remain lead on the new building
however as we move closer to the start of construction,
which is hopefully later this year,
I'll be enlisting some help from other faculty and staff
And the nerve center for the project will be moving
from Room 346 to Room 375,
thanks to the help of the Health Science Center's
Facilities Group in refurbishing Room 375.
And I will continue to see patients in Faculty Practice
and hopefully spend time with the GPR program at Memorial Hermann Hospital
So, as we move in a new direction,
what do I consider most important?
It all starts with people.
Students, faculty, staff and patients
I believe we are poised for great things
Achieving them won't be easy
but working together, I believe we'll succeed.
First up is to develop a vision
for the Dental Branch moving forward
for me it's being the best
dental school in the world
Isn't that what we want for our students,
our patients, the university?
Many of us have heard this phrase -
to be the best dental school in the world
used in some of our fundraising efforts
and well it should be!
But what’s missing, at least for me,
is defining the best dental school in the world
Over the next few months,
we'll develop our definition
but to give you an overall
feel for what it means to me
It means enriching our communities
Our community of students,
our faculty and staff, our school
our university, our city
and the health of the citizens of Texas and beyond.
Since being named Interim Dean
I have had a tremendous response from everyone
most of it including,
"Tell me what I can do to help. "
For me, that means, be involved
Don't wait to be asked to provide input
And bring your input to places
where you can be impactful
such as departmental meetings,
committee meetings, faculty senate and assemblies
Or to me
And finally, I would like to thank Dr Larry Kaiser,
President of the Health Science Center
for his support of the Dental Branch
He's consistently expressed his commitment
to the school and our new building.
And shares the expectation
that I hope we all share
of making this
the best dental school in the world.
Thanks for watching,
be sure to tune in next time.
The best is yet to come!
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