Dear fellow alumni and friends of the School of Dentistry,
Last week I had an opportunity to meet with the leadership of our Student Professionalism and Ethics Association (SPEA). The Student Professionalism and Ethics Association in Dentistry is a national, student-driven association that was established to promote students’ lifelong commitment to ethical behavior in order to benefit the patients they serve and to further the dental profession. The organization’s objectives are to serve as a resource for students to help them strengthen their personal and professional ethical values. SPEA is a resource for ethics education and professional development and for promoting awareness of ethics standards and related issues within dentistry. The association is recognized nationally and has received support from the American Student Dental Association, American College of Dentists, and American Society of Dental Ethics.
I first became aware of SPEA while serving on the Board of Regents of the American College of Dentists. I learned much about SPEA from the organization’s student representatives during my tenure on the Board. That knowledge transitioned with me as I began my service as dean at our School of Dentistry. The ACD’s four pillars are ethics, professionalism, leadership, and excellence, and are foundational for our profession. SPEA captures the essence of these pillars in its mission.
During my discussions with our SPEA leadership, one thing that stood out was that the future of our profession is bright. SPEA is and must be a student-driven organization to be successful and have longevity. This is where leadership becomes critical — leadership in our profession and leadership in education.
The most recent Journal of the American College of Dentists highlights Standards for Leadership in Oral Healthcare. This edition is very well done and probably one of the more topical and applicable in recent memory. I know most of the authors personally and have an immense level of respect for them and their personal and professional experiences that contributed to this edition of the JACD.
In sum and from the JACD (p.45), the core standards that should drive leadership and professional behavior include:
- Put the interests of others you serve first — prioritize patient welfare above personal or organizational gain.
- Act with purpose, setting aside bias or prejudice, to ensure decisions and actions are based on fairness, clinical evidence, and professional judgment.
- Demonstrate humility, empathy, respect, integrity, openness, and accountability — model the virtues you expect of other professionals.
- Foster trust and confidence — build credibility through consistent, transparent actions and effective communications.
- Make sound, defensible decisions based on best clinical practices, best-available evidence, and the values of the patient.
- Acknowledge and address mistakes — admit to errors promptly, apologize where appropriate, and take corrective action.
- Seek assistance early — request help or refer to avoid adverse outcomes.
- Accept and respond to justifiable criticism — objectively manage and apply lessons learned from valid criticisms.
- Commit to lifelong learning — pursue continuing professional development relevant to your role and emergent needs and technologies.
- Maintain personal well-being and resilience — engage in reflection to sustain high-quality performance and ethical decision-making.
Thank you for all you do for our School and especially for our students and those entrusted to our care.
Lead well at every engagement. Glad to be here. Let’s Go!
Stephen Pachuta
Dean
Reference: (2026) “J Am Coll Dent 2026 92 4,” Journal of the American College of Dentists: Vol. 92: No. 4, Article 1. Available at: https://commons.ada.org/jacd/vol92/iss4/1