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NJDS FACULTY & STAFF RETREAT AT MAYFAIR FARMS SUCCESSFUL
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310 NJDS faculty and staff attended the day-long second annual faculty
and staff retreat on December 3rd, which began with a "State of
the School" address by Dean Cecile A. Feldman. In her talk, she
highlighted some of the "challenges and opportunities that are confronting
us in our changing environment."
Dr.
Feldman reviewed the NJDS values of championing positive relationships
and upholding ethical values, while emphasizing that "it's people
who make the difference." She talked about how unified we become
in response to society's needs, and cited the school's involvement
in the September 11th tragedy as a clear example. 
Dr.
Feldman identified some of the key issues in the school's planning
and management arena, highlighting the strategic plan as "providing
the roadmap to desired endpoints," the well-funded research programs,
and the areas offering opportunities for improvement.
She
concluded her presentation by introducing some of the newly-hired
staff and faculty members, lauded those faculty who received the
UMDNJ Master Educator and Excellence in Teaching awards, and thanked
those staff members who worked so diligently to bring the retreat
into being.
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Keyote
speaker Lynn Reed followed Dr. Feldman's presentation. Mr. Reed,
a motivational speaker with extensive background in organizational
development and team effectiveness in the corporate world, focused
on "learning to deal with change" "creative thinking," and "initiatives
designed to enhance performance." In explaining some of the precepts
identified by philosopher, Edward de Bono, Mr. Reed said that in
order to "think outside the box" one has to learn to suspend judgment
and focus on the performance of the group, getting all participants
to participate. He pointed out that "creativity is the cheapest
way of getting added value from existing assets."
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Following
both presentations were five morning workshops which addressed the
new pilot clinical program, an update on the school's projected
new facilities, quality of work life issues, effective communication,
and understanding teaching styles. These programs, which ran simultaneously,
were headed by NJDS faculty Drs. Joel Pascuzzi and Cosmo DeSteno
(Pilot Clinical Program); Fotinos Panagakos (Facilities Planning);
Dr. M. Slifer and Ms. Nellie Laracuente (Quality of Work Life),
Dr. Claudine Drew (Teaching Styles), and Ms. Jackie LaPiedra from
the UMDNJ Office of Human Resources (Effective Communication). Ms.
Lorraine Bell and Mr. Ron Brooks from the same UMDNJ office substituted
the workshop, Rewarding Employees, in place of Facilities Planning
in the afternoon workshops. The wrap-up consisted of a team-building,
hands-on creative exercise conducted by Ms. Bell.
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The
day ended with a raffle, with the main prizes of digital cameras
won by Annette Allen, a dental assistant in the Office of Clinical
Affairs, and Carmen Logatto, a management assistant in the Dental
Research Center.
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