I.
Section on Minority Affairs
II.
Councilor Contact Information
Name ______Keith A. Mays, D.D.S., M.S. _________________________________________
(include degree titles)
Title _____ Department: Endodontics, Prosthodontics, and Operative Dentistry__________
Institution Name__University of Maryland, Dental School_______________________________
Phone: _(410) 706-7047_____________________ Fax: ____(410) 706-3028______________
Email: ___Tentmaker1@verizon.net_______________________________________________
III.
2007-2008 Section/SIG Activities
Describe section/SIG activities and projects during the past year. Take this opportunity
to highlight innovative activities and projects. Note projects with a national scope and/or
collaborative work with other sections, organizations, and institutions.
A. List the Section/SIG activities:
 This year the Section on Minority Affairs submitted an electronic newsletter to the
members of the Minority Affairs Section Newsletter on January 2, 2008. A print
version was also passed out at our Member’s Forum in Dallas.
 This year the Minority Affairs Section Program at ADEA Annual Session was
entitled “Increasing Minority Faculty Recruitment and Retention through
Collaboration, Faculty Development, and Scholarly Activities”. Moderator: Dr.
Keith A. Mays, Chair- ADEA Section on Minority Affairs. Dr. Leo Rouse, Dean,
Howard University College of Dentistry: The Pathways to AdministrationDr. Dr.
Jeanne Sinkford, ADEA, Center for Equity and Diversity: The Contribution of
Private Foundation Support in Faculty Development. Dr. Christen Stohler,
Dean, University of Maryland Dental School: The Role of the Dean’s Support in
Faculty Development. Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon, Meharry Medical College,
School of Dentistry, Leadership Training Opportunities. Mr. Monroe Brown,
University of Michigan School of Dentistry: Essential Structural Components of a
Faculty Development Program
B. What reflects the best example of your Section/SIG activities?
The mission of the Minority Affairs Section is to provide a vital source of leadership in
promoting and sustaining optimum diversity of faculty and administrators in dental and
dental hygiene education and to develop comprehensive strategies to increase the
number of minorities in the oral health care profession. Our goals and objectives are the
following:
1. To increase retention of membership by keeping them well informed.
2. To continue to seek collaboration with other organizational groups in sponsoring
programs of mutual interest related to increasing minorities in the dental and dental
hygiene profession.
3. To seek continual financial support from the National Dental Association (NDA) and
the National Dental Association Foundation (NDAF) for the Section on Minority
Affairs projects.
4. To invite various presidents of organized dentistry and dental hygiene to define and
discuss minority issues and how they impact their organizations, what each
organization is doing to address minority issues and other grassroots efforts to
promote the profession.
IV.
Membership and Attendance
Access the section membership list and reference the “Members’ Forum Attendance
Roster” provided in the section/SIG information packet to report the following:
A.
There are 496 members in section as of March 2008.
B.
There were 28 members in attendance at our section’s 2008 Members’ Forum.
V.
Section Structure (previously submitted)
VI.
Financial Status
A. Current Section Balance: $3096.85
VII.
Meeting Minutes (copy/paste Word document into the field)
Section on Minority Affairs Business Meeting
Tuesday April 1, 2008
ADEA Conference, Dallas TX
Attendees: Bennett Amaechi, Madeline J. Anderson-Thomas, Ryle Bell, Carolyn Booker,
William D. Butler, Madelyn Coar, Wisdom Coleman, Francis Curd, Cherae Farmer-Dixon,
Nathan Fletcher, Edwin Hines, Andrea Jackson, Robert Johns, Kenneth B. May, Keith A. Mays,
Melanie Mayberry, Mildred A. McClain, Yvonne L. Roland, Michael Rowland, John D. Scales,
Douglas M. Simmons, Jeanne Sinkford, Cornell Thomas, Machelle Thompson, and Cheryl
White.
Dr. Keith Mays called the Section of Minority Affairs Business meeting to order at 3:05 pm. Dr.
Mays greeted and welcomed the attendees to the business meeting. He introduced the officers
for the section and announced that Cornell Thomas has graciously accepted and assumed the
role of Chair next year, due to the departure of Dr. Freddie Jordan, from Ohio State.
Approval of the Minutes from New Orleans: Section Secretary, Dr. Michael Rowland
distributed copies of the minutes from 2007. A motion was made to approve the minutes as
distributed, the motion carried. The minutes were approved as distributed to the membership.
Greetings from the NDA: Dr. Nathan L. Fletcher (Pres.) provided words of welcome from the
National Dental Association. The NDA is looking forward to working with the Minority Affairs
Section of ADEA in the future.
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NDA Foundation Greeting: Dr. Roosevelt Brown, (no report)
Legislative Update: Dr. Jeanne Sinkford provided an update and hand-outs on legislative
affairs. She strongly encouraged the members to read it.
Report of the Center for Equity and Diversity: Dr. Sinkford reminded everyone of the
Diversity Leadership conference in Leesburg, VA on April 17-20. Dr. Sinkford announced that
due to the April 1, 2008 resignation of Dr. Michael Rowland from the Minority Affairs Advisory
Committee (MAAC) a replacement has been appointed and the newly appointed member of the
Minority Affairs Advisory Committee is Dr. Daffney Young Thomas from Meharry Medical
College School of Dentistry. Dr. Sinkford also announced that Dr. Francis Curd was appointed
to a 3-year term on the Minority Affairs Advisory Committee.
Update from the Council of Sections: Dr. Cherae Farmer announced that there were over
1100 persons registered for the ADEA 2008 conference. She also reported that there are
currently 57 dental schools with an additional 9 schools being planned to open in the future.
Also, Journal of Dental Education submissions are up this year with 21% of first-time authors.
Dr. Keith Mays thanked Dr. Farmer for her excellent service as Councilor for the Section of
Minority Affairs.
Elections of Officers were conducted for the position of Secretary for the Section of
Minority Affairs and the position of Section Councilor: Nominations were open to the floor
to fill the position of Secretary for the MAS. Dr. Mildred McClain, from the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine was nominated by Dr. Francis Curd for the position of
Secretary. A motion was made to close the nominations and the motion carried and second.
The vote was called for show of hands in support of the nomination of Dr. McClain as Section
Secretary. Dr. Mays welcomed and congratulated Dr. Mildred McClain as the new Secretary for
the Section on Minority Affairs. A recommendation was made to have Dr. Keith Mays, outgoing
Chair to serve as Councilor of the Section on Minority Affairs. A motion was made to close the
nominations and the motion carried and second. Congratulations were extended to Dr. Keith
Mays who will serve as the new Councilor for the Section.
Executive Director of the NDA, Robert Johns, strongly encouraged everyone to attend the
National Dental Association’s Annual Convention in Detroit, Michigan July 25-30 at the Detroit
Marriott Hotel. A town hall meeting will be held at the annual convention. Robert Johns noted
that the National Dental Association is creating a think tank to further focus on minority issues.
He also voiced concern that more deans do not participated in minority-related programs. Dr.
Sinkford suggested that the Section on Minority Affairs should request a meeting with the
deans at the fall meetings to discuss minority issues in dental education. Dr. Leo Rouse is the
new Vice-Chair of the Council of Deans and it was suggested to contact him about meeting with
the deans for the fall program October 22-25 in Philadelphia.
Dr. William Wisdom had concerns and questions regarding the underrepresented minority
applicant pool. Dr. Sinkford stated the underrepresented minority applicant pool has been
stabilized largely due to the efforts of the pipeline schools however there is still much work to be
accomplished. Many other members of the section were very concerned about the admissions
process is a barrier for underrepresented minority applicants. Dr. Sinkford noted that there
needs to be a national campaign to counter Ward Connelly’s efforts to use race in the
admissions process. There needs to be support from students, NDA, HDA, SAID, AAMC to be a
part of this grassroots campaign.
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Dr. Nathan Fletcher reiterated the National Dental Association is committed to faculty and
student recruitment issues and is willing and ready to assist in any way possible to help these
efforts.
Dr. Francis Curd noted that it is important for minority faculty to serve on 2 of the most
important committees in the dental school; Admissions Committee and Academic Progress
Committee. These committees regulate who is admitted to dental school and the Academic
Progress committee who is recommended for dismissal from Dental School.
Ms. Cheryl White was concerned about the impact credit card issues and other financial issues
will have on underrepresented minorities students in dental school and those applying for dental
school. This could be a major deterrent for underrepresented minority applicants and students.
Although the discussion was very lively and engaging, the section business meeting was out of
time, and Dr. Keith Mays needed to close the meeting. A motion was made and carried to end
the meeting at 4:15 pm.
Respectfully Submitted by,
Michael L. Rowland, Ph.D.
VIII.
Additional Comments or Suggestions to the Administrative Board
Provide feedback to the COS Admin Board about section concerns, comments, or
suggestions.
The scheduling of our Members’ Forum on Tuesday the last day of the meeting
continues to be a challenge for many of the members of our section. Many of the
educators interested in minority affairs unfortunately have to report back to their
university responsibilities by Tuesday and therefore have their flights prior to Tuesday.
We are appreciative of all past efforts at moving our meeting time. We would also like to
thank the planning committee for scheduling our Member’s Forum for 1 hour of
deliberation. We request that the Minority Affairs Section program and Members’ Forum
be scheduled on Monday or Sunday to facilitate greater attendance.
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