Introducing the New Dean of the NYU College of Dentistry
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /global/wwwds/www/sites/nyu.edu/htdocs/pages/dental/code/base/InformaticsConnector.php on line 61 ) Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc |
Charles N. Bertolami, DDS, DMedSc, a leader in the dental research, education and clinical communities, has been named the 14th Dean of the NYU College of Dentistry. He will assume the post on September 1, 2007. In making the announcement, NYU President John Sexton said, "Charles Bertolami is ideally suited not only to sustain the momentum generated during Mike Alfano’s deanship, but to accelerate it. He is a leader who can set an agenda for excellence in research, education and clinical care delivery and conceive of new possibilities for the role of the dental and nursing professions within the healthcare field." Dr. Bertolami is currently Dean and Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of California at San Francisco School of Dentistry, posts he has held since 1995. During the 12 years he has served in those posts, the UCSF School of Dentistry has led the nation in overall NIH funding for dental schools. In addition to expanding the school’s research capacity, he has also enhanced the school’s clinical and teaching programs, including renovating clinics and laboratories; implemented a new curriculum reinforcing integration of basic and clinical sciences in dental education; established and expanded joint degree programs; and established a year–long post–baccalaureate program for students from economically or educationally disadvantaged groups. His research and scholarly interest has focused on orofacial tissue repair, the biochemistry of hyaluronic acid, the use of sodium hyaluronate in treatment of temporomandibular disorders and professional ethics. His research has been consistently funded by the NIH. Dr. Bertolami is the recipient of many awards and honors. He is the President–Elect of the American Dental Education Association and is the former President of the American Association for Dental Research. A Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, he has served as a two–term member of the Overseers’ Visiting Committee for the Faculty of Medicine and Dental Medicine at Harvard; was named as Distinguished Alumnus of the Ohio State University College of Dentistry (1996); Distinguished Alumnus, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (2000); served as the Percy T. Phillips Visiting Professor at Columbia University (2002); and received the Paul Goldhaber Award of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (2003). He has been a frequently invited speaker for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), addressing deans and development officers on fundraising in higher education. President Sexton concluded by saying: "Many thought it would be impossible to convince Charles Bertolami to leave the University of California, but we are glad to report that he was drawn to NYU by the same attributes that have brought us so many outstanding faculty members and deans: the quality and character of the faculty, the students, the staff, and the senior administration at NYU. It is a tribute to NYU in general and the Dental College in particular that he has chosen to join us as a colleague. We ask the NYU community to join us in congratulating Dr. Bertolami and welcoming him to our university." Dr. Bertolami said, "I never thought I would leave the University of California, but I was absolutely astonished by the excellence, commitment, and vision of the faculty, the students, the staff and the senior administration at NYU. The opportunity to help build on the legacy of prior dean, Mike Alfano, and to work with Terry Fulmer, Dean of the College of Nursing, in one of the most innovative relationships in the health professions, was too good to pass up. NYU is where the action is—and is going to remain for the foreseeable future. I see this as a great opportunity as the next chapter in my life where I hope to be able to make a substantive contribution." |
