2011 President’s Corner Archive

Past Presidents’ Notes 2011 Presidential Notes – December

Final Report to the Fellowship, Reflections and Farewell

When my Presidential year began, I had six major goals in mind for our ICD in the year 2011. How did we do? What were the goals and have they come to fruition? Allow me to list the goals and then offer my take on accomplishments.

1) Increase the College’s emphasis on the key characteristics of ICD Fellowship…HONOR AND PRIDE. I have been trying to re-instill in each Fellow the feelings of Honor and Pride they had at the moment of their Induction into the College. All of us felt proud at that moment; honored that our colleagues selected us; and we each sensed that we were a part owner of our College. For many – those feelings go away. I tried to bring back those feelings through personal communications and my President’s Notes. Did it work?
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2011 Presidential Notes – November

The International Council – A note to ICD Councilors and Fellows

What happens at ICD’s Annual Session? This issue of my President’s’ Notes is two-fold in design. It is to help the many ICD Fellows who have never attended such a meeting understand our governance system. It is also a refresher for the Councilors and also serves to advise them of the key issues that will be discussed at this year’s International Council Meeting to be held in New Delhi, India on November 11-12, 2011.
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2011 Presidential Notes – October

GIVING BACK

It seems that almost every day we are asked to donate to some cause. Many organizations aligned with a disease and most human service groups are asking for our money; ecological catastrophes and many charities recruit us as volunteers to help them address envelopes, send emails, knock on doors. We are so deluged with the crush of charitable appeals that many of us have become inured to them. It is impossible, even for the most wealthy, to make a donation to every praiseworthy cause. And yet all of us have the responsibility to help those less fortunate.
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2011 Presidential Notes – September

THE CONSUMATE PROFESSIONAL

Who we are as professionals defines us both in our activities in dentistry and in our daily lives. As ICD dentists, we have committed ourselves to adhere to the Motto “Recognizing Service and the Opportunity to Serve” and are further guided by the Objectives of our College. I have often wondered how to express the application of these fundamental precepts that have served our College and its Fellows for 81 years, into practical examples which demonstrate the characteristics of the ICD Fellow within the concept of a professional person. In my search for clarity on this subject, I found many definitions for professionals but none that could draw an accurate picture of the consummate professional. That was until I came across an outstanding document from the American Dental Education Association (AADE) entitled Professionalism in Education which proposes six values that define professionalism.
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2011 Presidential Notes – August

HUMANITARIANISM AND THE ICD

Some time ago it occurred to me that the focus of the ICD was gradually shifting from the “dissemination of dental knowledge”, one of the principal goals of our founding objectives, to “humanitarianism.” I imagine that this is due in great part to readily available continuing education – electronically, on audiocassette, DVD, and online. These methods of transmitting educational material were not available when the College’s original goals were visualized.

It is a natural progression, for the dissemination of knowledge and humanitarianism is more closely related than it may seem at first blush. A humanitarian is a person concerned with improving the welfare of mankind, whereas teachers, through the dissemination of knowledge have the power to improve the lives of great numbers through their students. As a great number of ICD Fellows were invited to Fellowship specifically because of their humanitarian efforts, it’s only natural that, as a group, the ICD has been drawn in that direction. And, as an international organization, it may be easier for us to see the need and the opportunity of serving mankind while bringing meaning and purpose to our own lives.
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2011 Presidential Notes – July

ETHICS AND THE ICD

Ethics is defined as a system of moral principles, or rules of conduct, that governs the behavior of an individual, or groups or fields of endeavor; i.e., dentistry, medicine, law.   It is also that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with regard to the correctness of certain actions, in addition to the worth of the motives and consequences of such behavior.

Our Ethical Foundation In November 1920 Dr. Louis Ottofy of the U.S.A. and Dr. Tsurukichi Okumura of Japan first expressed their visionary concept for what was to become the International College of Dentists (ICD). They dreamed of an International organization based on the dissemination of the most current dental knowledge and information.  They also wanted to establish an organization that would meet in a universal forum allowing for the cultivation of cordial relations within the profession.
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2011 Presidential Notes – June

MID-YEAR REPORT TO THE FELLOWSHIP

Preparation – Goals And Ideas The 2011 ICD Presidential year began for me sometime in mid- 2010. My mind was on the moment and my assignments given to me by then President and my good friend Manfred Seidemann, but in the back of my head, in some little corner, I started to store thoughts and ideas for my turn. By September I had outlined my Goals for the year and they were presented to the worldwide fellowship in my very first President’s Note which I decided to label “IT SEEMS TO ME…” I had also given thought to the content of each month’s column, decided to expand the role of the Executive Committee members, conceived of a Presidential Project and many other ideas which are highlighted below. It was a busy time.
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2011 Presidential Notes – May

Growth and Development

Any organization, whether a corporation, an association, or a professional society, must have a well-developed and positive Growth and Development strategy.  Its visibility, strength and significance to its employees, constituents or members depends on that strategy.

Our International College of Dentists is no exception to this requirement and, over the years, by virtue of our officers’ dedication to this philosophy and a special committee devoted solely to this endeavor, has provided the leadership necessary to ensure the College’s relevancy in this modern age.
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2011 Presidential Notes – April

Concepts of Leadership

What defines leadership? There are literally hundreds of definitions listed in nearly as many sources. Most are specific to their genre, but a generalized consensus is: “the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.”

Are leaders made or born? Today most agree that leadership can be learned through self-study, education, training, and experience, but they also agree the skills and knowledge possessed by a leader can be influenced by their own attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character.
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2011 Presidential Notes – March

Pathways to Fellowship

In the early 1920s the founding fathers of our International College of Dentists, Louis Ottofy and Tsurukichi Okumura, realized that there was a disparity in the availability of quality continuing dental education. Those dentists in smaller countries and remote locations had difficulty staying abreast of emerging technologies in dentistry. They decided a new organization was needed for dentists to meet and exchange dental knowledge and thus our College was born. Our most knowledgeable and talented fellows were asked to “network” to disseminate the most current information to their colleagues. Some have said, “We enlisted the best to educate the rest.” The process of selecting persons for the “network” led to the College’s “invitation” process in identifying candidates for fellowship in ICD.
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2011 Presidential Notes – February

I am an ICD Fellow… in Five Words

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of my induction into the International College of Dentists. Over the course of my professional career the “FICD” title has taken on a variety of meanings. Within these various meanings, however, I have found five words that represent how I feel to be an ICD Fellow.

Honor In my early years of dental practice, I was somewhat aware of the ICD. I noticed the organization’s understated publicity in local journals and I began to understand that many of the highly respected and active colleagues, in various organizations I belonged to, were ICD Fellows. It was not difficult to discover the significant impact ICD projects and programs were having throughout the world.
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2011 Presidential Notes – January

Dear ICD Fellows worldwide,

Happy New Year! On behalf of the International College of Dentists, I extend to each Fellow, and his or her family, the warmest of wishes for 2011. May you enjoy good health, much happiness, abundant prosperity, abiding peace and personal satisfaction in this New Year.

Of all the constants in the world, the most certain is change. Yet, while change is good and fresh and promising, we should never be guilty of adopting change just for change sake. We should keep the best and discard the rest. Your ICD Officer Corps has, starting a year ago, adopted a Team Leadership governance plan.
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