Fairview Room of the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida
March 20, 1997
(Excerpted from the AAOB Newsletter, Volume 6, Issue 1 - January 1998)
The 1997 Annual AAOB business meeting was held on Thursday, March 20, 1997 from 5:30 - 6:30 P.M. in the Fairview Room of the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Frank Dowd, AAOB president, opened the meeting and extended his appreciation to the AAOB officers for their input during the preceding year. He then set the agenda and lead the membership in their discussion of the following items of business.
Item 1: The minutes of the AAOB business meeting on Saturday, March 16, 1996 at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel were accepted as presentedin the August, 1996 issue (Volume 4, Issue 2) of the American Association of Oral Biologists Newsletter.
Item 2: Dr. Steven D. London, AAOB Secretary/Treasurer reported that the balance of Association funds as of December 31, 1996 was $6,905.55. There were 131 members in good standing for the 1997 calendar year. Dr. London reported that 1997 Dues will be $67.00 and include $12.00 AAOB Dues and $55.00 for the 1997 issues Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine. Subscription to Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine will remain optional for associate (student) and retired members. Dues Notices were sent out in November, 1996.
1996 marked the second year that all full association members were required to subscribe to Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine. Dr. London reported that he collected and forwarded $3,686.80 in subscription fees for 1996 issues of Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine to the IADR/AADR. Dr. London thanked Mr. Bobby Phipps (IADR Membership Dues Coordinator) for his help in the coordination of the Journal subscriptions for AAOB members and for allowing international members to pay their dues by credit card to the AADR.
Dr. London reported that the IADR billed AAOB members of record during 1996 for 1997 subscriptions to Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine . This created a great deal of confusion among AAOB members as to whether they should subscribe to Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine directly with the IADR or as part of their AAOB dues. Dr. London suggested to the membership that it be more straightforward for AAOB members to pay their subscription to Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine directly to the IADR starting in 1998. This plan was adopted unanimously by the members.
Item 3: Dr. Murray R. Robinovitch reported the results of the 1997 AAOB election. Of 131 ballots mailed, 76 responded (55%). The following members were elected or appointed officers for 1997-1998:
| President: | Frank Oppenheim Boston University |
| President-Elect: | Olav Alvares University of Texas, San Antonio |
| Secretary/Treasurer: | Steven D. London (1996-1999) Medical University of South Carolina |
| Elected Directors: | Lorne Golub (1996-1998) SUNY, Stony Brook |
| Leigh Anderson (1997-1999) University of Washington |
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| Appointed Directors: | Mustafa Kh. Dabbous (1997-1998) University of Tennessee |
| Kenneth Etzel (1997-1998) University of Pittsburgh |
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| Past President: | Frank Dowd Creighton University |
| Program Officer: | Beverly Dale-Crunk (1996-1998) University of Washington |
| Editor, CROBM: | Olav Alvares Univ. of Texas, San Antonio |
Item 4: Because the AAOB Bylaws have not been formally reviewed since March 1992, AAOB President Murray Robinovitch requested the two appointed directors, Andrew I. Spielman and Firoz Rahemtulla, to make suggestions, discuss it with other members of the Board, and report it at the 1997 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. The suggested amendments were presented by Andrew I. Spielman and additional changes were made to the document based on the input of the membership. Due to the number of members who were in attendance at the meeting, it was decided to submit the final revised version in the next Newsletter and ask all members to vote on it.
Item 5: Dr. Mark Wolff reported that he had examined the December 1995 Part II National Board examination for oral biology content. Dr. Wolff reported that between 5 and 10% of the questions directly concerned oral biology topics with a strong identification of oral biology questions to clinical situations. Dr. Wolff reported that he was very impressed with the scope and content of the examination and emphasized the critical role that oral biology plays in dental education.
Item 6: Dr. Steven London, Councilor of the AADS Oral Biology Section reported on the status of the AADS initiative on Competency based dental education. At the March 1997 AADS meeting, a clinical competency document was accepted by the AADS House of Delegates. Dr. London stressed that he emphasized the importance of Foundation Knowledge as a means to integrate the basic sciences and oral biology with clinical competencies. Dr. London encouraged AAOB members to join the AADS Oral Biology Section and to support its efforts in emphasizing the critical role of the basic sciences and oral biology in dental education.
Item 7: Dr. Olav Alvares, Editor of Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine, expressed his appreciation to the IADR/AADR for their excellent management of the Journal during the past year. Dr. Alvares reported that the subscription rate for members of the AAOB and all IADR members in 1997 will be $55.00. Dr. Alvares expressed his appreciation for the support of the AAOB and its members.
Item 8: Dr. Frank Dowd, AAOB President, initiated a discussion of a number of items of New Business. They included:
- A discussion of a plan to begin an AAOB award in Oral Biology for which will honor graduating senior dental students who have been involved in research in Oral Biology during their dental school career. Such an award would be presented by the AAOB to a graduating senior student who has been nominated by the dean upon recommendation of the faculty. After discussion and suggestions by the membership, the plan was unanimously adopted. A committee was appointed to implement this program with the plan that awards would be given in the Spring of 1998.
- Dr. Olav Alvares suggested that the AAOB should have a joint symposium at the 1999 IADR/AADR meeting in Vancouver, Canada. He suggested that this would be a good opportunity to interact with the Japanese Association of Oral Biologists. After discussion and suggestions by the members, it was decided that Dr. Alvares, with the support of the AAOB Officers, begin planning for this event. Dr. Alvares agreed that he would contact the Japanese Association of Oral Biologists and report his progress at the 1998 AAOB business meeting in Minneapolis.
With no further business items to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 P.M.
Prepared and submitted by Dr. Steven D. London, Secretary/Treasurer.
