Dr. Jeffrey Hutter Elected Vice Chair of Commission on Dental Accreditation

Dr. Jeffrey Hutter, associate dean for academic affairs and chair of the endodontics department, will serve as vice chair of the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation during the 2006-2007 term pending approval by the ADA House of Delegates at the annual session in Las Vegas in October.

Commission members elected Hutter at the group’s July 28 meeting at the ADA’s Chicago headquarters.

Hutter plans to have a positive impact on the quality of pre- and postdoctoral dental education through his new role. "I hope to work with the chair of the commission in addressing such issues as international accreditation, curriculum reform, review and revision of the standards for dental education, and the relationship between the standards for predoctoral dental education and competency-based education," he said.

As vice chair, Hutter will serve on ad hoc committees and task forces as assigned by the commission’s chair and assume the chair’s responsibilities in his absence.

The commission works to ensure quality dental education and reflect the evolving practice of dentistry through accreditation. The group creates evaluation standards, sets guidelines for conducting accreditation, and appoints site visitors.