2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 52
BY SENATOR BISHOP
A RESOLUTION
To commend and congratulate the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry for quality of all
programs and robust educational environment.
WHEREAS, the School of Dentistry in New Orleans is one of six schools of the LSU
Health Sciences Center and is the only dental school in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, today, students, residents, and faculty provide care in eleven locations
statewide with an average of one hundred thousand patient visits annually; and
WHEREAS, from 1972 to 2012, the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry has graduated
over five thousand dental health professionals and the school's graduation rate is 98.7% with
nearly 75% of the dentists licensed to practice in Louisiana being graduates of the school;
and
WHEREAS, from a national perspective, the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry is
unique among the more than sixty-five dental schools in the United States because it offers
degrees in dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental laboratory technology and, by training
students in all aspects of dentistry, offers a level of training that has resulted in the school's
reputation for outstanding clinical education; and
WHEREAS, in early March, the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry programs in
dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental laboratory technology, as well as the advanced
education programs in endodontics, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and
prosthodontics, were evaluated in detail by the Commission on Dental Accreditation
(CODA) Site Visit consultants over a three-day period; and
WHEREAS, established in 1975, CODA is nationally recognized by the United
States Department of Education as the sole agency to accredit dental and dental-related
education programs and CODA-appointed consultants visit schools to assess their programs
in education, research, and patient care; the process being a demanding one involving
support from everyone – faculty, students, staff and alumni and occurring every seven years;
and
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WHEREAS, the CODA had no recommendations for the LSU School of Dentistry –
a significant achievement and one of the most successful site visits in the dental school's
history; and
WHEREAS, at the close of the CODA Site Visit, the committee commended
LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry "for the quality of all programs and the robust educational
environment associated with a model which incorporates the entire dental team: dentistry,
dental hygiene, and dental laboratory technology which best replicates intraprofessional
collaboration" as the consultants also commented on the quality of students at the LSU
School of Dentistry who are all top-notch, extremely focused individuals.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry for quality
of all programs and robust educational environment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Dean of the LSUHSC-NO School of Dentistry.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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