Dr. Thomas Koertge Appointed Director of Preclinical Sciences Education; Meredith Baines to Chair Curriculum Committee
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Tom Koertge as the Director of Preclinical Sciences Education, reporting primarily to the Senior Associate Dean, Dr. Ellen Byrne, and secondarily to the dean for these duties. In this new role, Dr. Koertge will focus on moving the very successful curriculum concepts in the clinical skills courses to the didactic and preclinical curriculum with the goal of enhancing learning outcomes focused on educational domains in dentistry. Dr. Koertge’s appointment completes the assembling of a team to lead the design, revision and oversight of the DDS curriculum. He joins his fellow team members Dr. Andrew Yeudall, Director of Basic Dental Sciences Education, Ms. Meredith Baines, Director of Curriculum Innovation, and Dr. Rick Archer, Director of Clinical Sciences Education. Dr. Koertge will provide leadership and oversight, in collaboration with course directors, chairs, and program directors, of all preclinical DDS and DH courses relative to course content, timing, and integration across the educational systems in the School of Dentistry. He will also serve as Vice Chair of the Practice Affairs Committee and Chair of the D2 Class Committee for the APC.
Dr. Koertge earned his D.M.D. degree from Southern Illinois University in 1978. He completed his residency training in Periodontics in 1981 and his Ph.D. in 1984, both at the University of Iowa, while he was supported through an institutional National Research Service Award. He currently holds joint appointments with the Department of Periodontics and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
Dr. Koertge has been on the faculty in the Department of Periodontics at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1982, Pre-doctoral Periodontics Director since 1989 and Vice Chair since 2005 and he will continue in these departmental roles. He has extensive experience in pre-doctoral education having served as an officer and counselor for the ADEA section on Periodontics and as Chair of the American Academy of Periodontics Education committee. Dr. Koertge has also been the attending periodontist of the VCU/VA General Practice Residency since 1988 and is currently serving as the State Dental Officer for the Virginia National Guard.
In addition, Meredith Baines has been appointed to Chair the Curriculum Committee. In this capacity, she will lead the committee in development of senior selectives and school policies to support them. The committee will also be continuing with review of the current curriculum in tandem with the process of curriculum revision and modernization.
Meredith Baines, M.Ed. is Assistant Professor and Director for Curriculum Innovation at the School of Dentistry. She received her B.A. from Washington and Lee University (2001) and her M.Ed. from the VCU School of Education (2007). Meredith has worked in health professions education since 2001, split evenly between Graduate Medical Education and Dentistry. Specific areas of experience include curriculum design, management, and assessment as well as educational program management. In her current position, she provides leadership in monitoring, measuring, improving, advancing, and innovating, the pre-doctoral and post-graduate curricula with a focus on educational methodologies and student assessment. Meredith has been responsible for implementing two major educational technology projects – E*Value, our web-based course and instructional evaluation system, and Exam Soft, a computer-based testing program, that launched as a pilot in spring 2014. Meredith serves on the VCU Library Advisory Council (VLAC), University Assessment Council, is a liaison to the American Dental Education Association’s Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education (ADEA CCI), routinely reviews educational methodology manuscripts for the Journal of Dental Education, and served on the School of Dentistry’s strategic planning committee.
Both appointments are designed to support the goals of the VCU Quest for Distinction and the School of Dentistry’s strategic plan.
VCU Quest Support: Theme1, B, C; Theme III, B
Goal 1.1
The School of Dentistry will provide its students an academic and clinical education that reflects the knowledge, skills and values needed for future success.
Objective 1.1.1
To develop and maintain academic and clinical curricula that reflect evidence-based advances in research, technology and changes in the oral and general health needs of the population
Objective 1.1.2
To prepare students to self-assess their learning outcomes and allow them opportunities to individualize their preparation based on areas of strength and interest and future career plans
Goal 1.5
The School of Dentistry will be financially positioned to be a premier educational institution and employer in an increasingly competitive health care field
Objective 1.5.1
To identify ways, including new sources of revenue, to contain student educational costs (tuition and fees) and support educational improvements
Goal 3.1
The School of Dentistry will be known for the high quality and value of its patient services, including undergraduate, graduate and faculty practice
Objective 3.1.1
To provide patient services that are consistent with the mission of the School of Dentistry