Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

4 © NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY special needs dental care and community service in South Florida and globally, including our neighbors in South and Central American countries,” she said. “Moving forward, we’re going to strengthen our curriculum in digital dentistry and continue to integrate our basic sciences with our clinical sciences.” THE STRATEGIC PLAN According to Niessen, an updated strategic plan will catapult the CDM in the years ahead. The previous strategic plan, named inNOVAtions (2012–2017), outlined a mission and vision, as well as goals and objectives, for the CDM. The 2017–2022 strategic plan builds on the previous one, with a forward focus and an emphasis on the college’s trajectory for the next 20 years. “What’s going to affect the CDM is what’s going on in the wider world of health care reform, dental technology innovations, and trends in dental delivery. We will also build on the trends that the university as a whole is address- ing,” said Niessen, who became the CDM’s third dean when she assumed the office on October 1, 2013. The strategic plan begins by reiterating the importance of NSU’s Core Values: academic excellence, student centered, integrity, innovation, opportunity, scholarship/research, diversity, and community. “NSU’s president and CEO, George L. Hanbury, has outlined an exciting Vision 2020 for NSU. The college’s vision aligns well with that vision,” Niessen said. The aligned vision statement in the CDM strategic plan states, “To lead by having a significant impact on advancing oral health through innovation in dental education, clinical practice, scientific discovery, and community service.” Hanbury agreed that the CDM vision statement is concurrent with NSU’s Vision 2020. “To be recognized as a premier college providing education and knowledge to students, not only dental students, but also postgraduate students who go into specialties of dentistry, and to help improve lives, is absolutely critical not only to the university, but also to the nation,” Hanbury explained. “I believe the concepts in the strategic plan and the methodologies described are very noble.” According to Niessen, the CDM’s strategic plan’s mission statement supports the university’s core values. The mission statement is geared “to educate future dental professionals and improve oral health through patient-centered care, academic excellence, research, leadership, and commitment to the communities we serve, particularly the special needs and underserved populations.” Frederick Lippman, R.Ph. , Ed.D., chancellor of the NSU Health Professions Division, said the CDM’s mission statement speaks to the future of the dental college. “I believe very strongly that dental schools across the nation, including ours, have gone through a metamorphosis over the past decade, looking at not necessarily the academic excellence, but the emphasis of academic involvement in what is traditionally seen as a clinical profession,” he said. Lippman added that the commitment to community, which has always been a priority since the beginnings of NSU’s CDM, is as important as ever. “The governmental and political community, which represents various licensing and provision of standards to multiprofessionals, has recognized that there is a tremendous need for dental care not available to the general citizenry. That commitment to community is a very important and vital area,” he said. College of Dental Medicine: Through the Years The CDM has seen many milestones during its first 20 years. Following are some highlights. 1994 Seymour Oliet, D.D.S., a retired endo- dontist, is brought out of retirement by former colleagues Morton Terry, D.O., M.Sc. , FACOI, and Arnold Mel- nick, D.O., M.Sc. , FACOP, who appoint him to lead a task force established to determine the need for a college of dental medicine in South Florida. Right: Eva Chiang, D.D.S., reviews a patient’s treatment plan.The CDM has a long history of treating patients who would otherwise not have access to needed oral health care.