Supreme Chapter         Volume XXXIX         October 2004

Dear OKU delegates and colleagues,

    It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as the President of the Supreme Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon this year.  Over the year, I have had a chance to talk to some of you and certainly read the reports of your Chapters.  Your scholarly activities strongly reflect that the mission of OKU “the promotion and recognition of scholarship” is thriving well at your institutions.

    Last year, in my address I reflected upon the changing demographics of the population in this nation and the rapidly growing cultural diversity of our patients and oral health care providers.  The implications of these changes and the need for cultural sensitivity and competency in our training programs has emerged as one of the key topics for discussion at ADEA, ADA, NIDCR, HRSA and our specialty organizations.  This afternoon, OKU and Sigma Phi Alpha, the national Dental Hygiene Honor Society co-sponsored a symposium featuring Dr. Mellisa Welch.  Her presentation “A Culturally Conscious Approach to Addressing Disparities in Oral Health: Emerging Models of Practice” was very well attended and received.  I want to thank Dr. Claudine Drew, President-Elect of Sigma Phi Alpha for her untiring assistance in the organization of the symposium.

    We are fortunate to have very committed and able officers and staff, and it has been my privilege to serve with them.  Our website, thanks to the efforts of our editor, Dr. Delahanty, continues to develop and our business is now mostly conducted electronically.  Our Secretary/Treasurer, Dr Suzuki, has completed transferring archival membership information of Chapters on CD’s that make data retrieval much more accessible.  His guidance and assistance has been invaluable over the period of my tenure on the Board, and of course Jan John, our efficient guardian of the office and its archives keeps us well-centered.  

    In closing, I want to thank my colleagues on the Board and the members who served on the various committees for their time and commitment.  Thank you for providing me with the honor to serve as your president this year.