The Office and its Mission
The College of Dental Medicine (CDM) Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs(ODMA) has been the internal support system for underrepresented minority students, faculty and staff. The ODMA also plays an integral role in the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students for CDM. Many programs have been implemented through the ODMA to increase the training of underrepresented minorities in the CDM pre-doctoral and postdoctoral programs. Following are descriptions of programs supported by the ODMA and targeting individuals ranging from junior high school students to current dental faculty members, in keeping with the office’s mission: to support, promote and encourage a climate for diversity and multiculturalism within the CDM for students, faculty, staff and patients.
For Junior High and High School Students (Grades 7-12):
Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP)
For Freshman, Sophomore, and Community College Undergraduates:
Summer Medical & Dental Education Program (SMDEP)
For Predoctoral Dental Students:
Student National Dental Association (SNDA)
Underrepresented in Dentistry Program (UID)
For Fourth-Year Predoctoral/Postdoctoral Dental Students, Junior Dental Faculty:
Minority Dental Faculty Development Program (MDFD)
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Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs General Contact Information and Faculty/Staff List
Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP):
For more than 17 years, CDM has been the home of STEP, a New York State grant funded academic enrichment program for students in grades 7-12. Each year, approximately 100 students from public, private and parochial schools are invited to participate in the program. Students are eligible to apply if they are economically disadvantaged or members of a historically underrepresented minority group. The program includes six-weeks of intensive summer enrichment classes combined with Saturday classes throughout the school year. The program employs qualified teachers from the area to prepare the students for college career paths in science and math-related fields with the goal that eventually some will choose dentistry or other science and health care fields. Dental and medical students serve as mentors to the participants. Approximately twelve students graduate each year and receive scholarships into such prestigious schools as Columbia, NYU, Pace, Holy Cross, and Howard University.
For more information about STEP, please contact:
Dr. Marlene Klyvert, Director
630 West 168 th Street , P&S Box 20
New York , NY 10032
212-305-3573 (phone)
212-342-4300 (fax)
mk29@columbia.edu
VISIT THE NEW STEP WEBSITE - http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/STEP/
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Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP):
The Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) is funded through a four-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The SMDEP is a 6-week summer enrichment program for pre-dental and pre-medical freshman, sophomore and community college students belonging to groups underrepresented in the dental and medical professions. Eighty such students (including 20 pre-dental students) will participate in the SMDEP at Columbia each summer. Students are provided academic enrichment in the basic sciences, elective courses (e.g., current topics in health), learning skills seminars, clinical exposure, career development services and financial planning assistance from faculty/instructors within Columbia’s CDM, College of Physicians & Surgeons (P&S), Biological Sciences department, and Scholarly Resources department. Additionally, current CDM and P&S students serve as resident advisors/teaching assistants for the program, providing academic assistance, organizing social activities, and providing other support as needed.
For more information about SMDEP and to apply for the program, please visit: http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/smep
For more information about the SMDEP experience at Columbia University, please visit: http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/ps/minority/minorityaffairs/smep.html
Additional questions about SMDEP may be directed to:
Dr. Dennis A. Mitchell
Assistant Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
630 West 168 th Street
P& S Box 20
New York , NY 10032
212-342-3714 (phone)
212-305-1034 (fax)
DML48@columbia.edu
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Student National Dental Association (SNDA):
In collaboration with the CDM Office of Student Affairs, the ODMA supports the CDM chapter of the Student National Dental Association (SNDA). This student-based organization, whose parent organization is the National Dental Association (NDA), has evolved into the multicultural community service organization for CDM students. The SNDA at CDM also maintains its commitment to supporting underrepresented dental students, encouraging promising economically disadvantaged youths to pursue dental careers, and serving as a means for patient recruitment. SNDA students sponsor and/or participate in numerous community service activities each year, including Give Kids a Smile Day, CU Smiles, Oral Health Teach-Ins, dental service trips to Jamaica (W.I.), and health professions career days.
Year-end review for 2006 can be viewed here -pdf file
For more information about SNDA at CDM, please visit: http://dental.columbia.edu/snda
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Underrepresented in Dentistry Program (UID):
The Underrepresented in Dentistry (UID) program was instituted at CDM in 2003 as a collaboration between the ODMA and Office of Admissions & Student Affairs. The program seeks to increase the diversity of the CDM student body as a means to enhance diversity within the dental profession. This mission is a reflection of the CDM admissions policy for diversity, which affirms the school’s commitment to “assure a “critical mass” of underrepresented in dentistry students, as well as a student body which is diverse in many respects.” To accomplish this mission, the UID program currently provides targeted merit scholarships to assist underrepresented in dentistry students at CDM. UID students receive mentoring and support, including guidance to identify research and community service placement opportunities, from several dedicated CDM faculty members. The success of this initiative is reflected within the CDM pre-doctoral class. The freshman cohorts enrolled since the UID program’s inception have included increasingly larger numbers of students underrepresented in the dental profession.
For more information about the UID program, please contact:
Dr. Dennis A. Mitchell
Assistant Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
630 West 168 th Street
P& S Box 20
New York , NY 10032
212-342-3714 (phone)
212-305-1034 (fax)
DML48@columbia.edu
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Minority Dental Faculty Development Program (MDFD):
The Minority Dental Faculty Development (MDFD) Program is funded at five dental schools in New York State, including CDM, through a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant administered by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). The program’s goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority junior faculty and dental graduates, through training and advanced education of fourth year pre-doctoral students, postgraduate dental students and junior faculty committed to a full-time career in academic dentistry. Program fellows are assigned a mentor who holds monthly meetings to provide counsel and guidance, serves as an advocate, and monitors student progress. Mentors assure that students receive the guidance toward excellence in research and advanced training toward excellence in teaching required for an academic career. Fellows are required to pursue formal training to build teaching skills and pedagogical knowledge using on-campus and inter-campus resources and to maintain a reflective e-Portfolio for evaluation and progress tracking. Training that leads to a graduate degree is also a great priority for MDFD fellows. Therefore, the program offers financial assistance to underrepresented minority applicants who enroll in M.S., M.P.H., or Ph.D. programs.
For more information about the MDFD program and to apply, please visit: http://www.nysadc.org/mdfd.shtml
Additional questions about the MDFD program may be directed to:
Dr. Dennis A. Mitchell
Assistant Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
630 West 168 th Street
P& S Box 20
New York , NY 10032
212-342-3714 (phone)
212-305-1034 (fax)
DML48@columbia.edu
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Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Admissions Policy on Diversity:
The College of Dental Medicine seeks a diverse student body reflecting not only the many faces of the patients who will be treated by the graduates of the school, but also for the creation of a diverse body of thought and interest within this community of scholars. Our definition of diversity includes race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and more, but is certainly not limited to those considerations. The candidate’s background in the sciences, future career intentions, unique abilities, personality, and general accomplishments also are carefully reviewed in seeking to have a diverse student body. For instance, a student who has demonstrated unique talents and skills in research, or who has a unique life mission in public health service, brings to our student body another important measure of diversity.
The school sets no quotas nor has set asides; regardless of race or ethnicity, all applicants are considered in the same competitive pool using the same policies and procedures and Admissions Committee members. Our Admissions Committee protocols insure that all applicants receive individualized consideration using a flexible policy in which race/ethnicity is one of a number of diversity related considerations or factors taken into account.
Historically, the school has made a good faith consideration of workable race neutral alternatives to race conscious policies. Such alternatives have proven inadequate in creating the desired nature of the student body. In dentistry in particular with the very small national applicant pools for those groups who are under-represented in dentistry, race neutral alternatives are particularly limited.
In summary, it is the intent of these “narrowly tailored” policies to assure a “critical mass” of under-represented in dentistry students, as well as a student body which is diverse in many respects. Such a student body is best prepared to meet the health care needs of our local community and society at large. As part of the institutional outcomes annual review, these policies and the results of their implementation are carefully reviewed and subject to future modification.
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Office of Diversity & Multicultural Affairs General Contact Information and Faculty/Staff List:
General Contact Information:
Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
630 West 168 th Street
P& S Box 20
New York , NY 10032
212-342-3714 (phone)
212-305-1034 (fax)
DML48@columbia.edu
Faculty and Staff:
Dr. Dennis A. Mitchell
Assistant Dean
DML48@columbia.edu
Ms. Shana Lassiter
Associate Director
SLL2108@columbia.edu
Ms. Belinda S. Turner
Program Administrator
bst2104@columbia.edu
Dr. Marlene Klyvert
Senior Advisor
Director, STEP
mk29@columbia.edu
Mrs. Ivy Young
Program Administrator, STEP
iy2001@columbia.edu
Mrs. Ruby M. Wilson
Secretary
rwm2114@columbia.edu
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