Happy New Year and welcome back to the USC School of Dentistry! Pete Carroll and his Trojan football team have rung in the New Year with an amazing second consecutive national championship, eleventh in the University's illustrious history. We too continue to add to the prestige of the University through our ongoing efforts to increase the value of a professional degree from the USC School of Dentistry. Our academic excellence, status and reputation have increased immensely over the last four years through the implementation and revision of our strategic plan "Shaping the Future" (2001-2006). Students within our various applicant pools now compete for the opportunity to learn with our distinguished faculty; research activity is at an all-time high with USCSD ranked No.1 among all private and No. 7 among all dental schools in America; our service-learning and our community oral health programs are flourishing; and our financial base is solid and secure through sustained alumni, corporate and friend fundraising.
As we continue to improve how we contribute to the learning community and the cultivation of the minds and spirits of tomorrow's oral health professionals, we will continue to implement the strategies from our planning processes, and we will continue to ask "how can we do even better?" We remain committed to continually improving the USCSD problem-based pedagogy and to provide undergraduate, graduate and resident learners with the very best education.
Our focus on increasing the academic excellence of the USC School of Dentistry, on hiring and retaining the best and most creative faculty, and encouraging innovation and discovery must continue to define and underpin our future activities. Similarly, our core value of clinical excellence must continue to guide our patient and community oral health care throughout the Southern California region and beyond. And we must acknowledge the profound fact that conditions in the world and our nation are changing ever more rapidly. Therefore, we need even more flexible strategies to adjust and accommodate to ever changing external circumstances.
As you reconnect with USC and explore the Norris Dental Science Building, you will notice that there are a number of minor and major renovations in progress. Office, laboratory and clinic renovations designed to enhance or improve efficiency and performance at USC are in progress. Please be flexible and make adjustments to these changes and improvements.
Happy New Year and welcome back to the USC School of Dentistry! Pete Carroll and his Trojan football team have rung in the New Year with an amazing second consecutive national championship, eleventh in the University's illustrious history. We too continue to add to the prestige of the University through our ongoing efforts to increase the value of a professional degree from the USC School of Dentistry. Our academic excellence, status and reputation have increased immensely over the last four years through the implementation and revision of our strategic plan "Shaping the Future" (2001-2006). Students within our various applicant pools now compete for the opportunity to learn with our distinguished faculty; research activity is at an all-time high with USCSD ranked No.1 among all private and No. 7 among all dental schools in America; our service-learning and our community oral health programs are flourishing; and our financial base is solid and secure through sustained alumni, corporate and friend fundraising.