The circumstances surrounding the illustrious history of the Academy of Prosthodontics and its members are well known. The early members of this Academy were intelligent and dedicated but also held so steadfastly to their opinions that sometimes hard feelings or even verbal floor fights ensued. "Evidence Based Dentistry" had not yet happened.

With everything, we either move forward and continue to grow, or we remain still expecting things to stay the same. But they don’t stay the same and we slide backwards instead because change continues on. Recent findings show that technology has grown more in the last 5 years than it had in the previous 50 years. Fortunately, the Academy has had the good sense to cautiously grow with the times rather than suffer the fate of the once successful fine buggy whip factory that for generations continued to make only fine buggy whips, but with the coming of automobiles, there was no longer a demand for fine buggy whips.

In contrast, the Academy changed with the times, members became more tolerant of others and they supported the growth of technology, the development of scientific instrumentation and testing data for accountability; the building blocks of Evidence Based Dentistry. The Academy members’ positive response to these major changes, blended with a growing tolerance and respect for their colleagues’ findings, were responsible for the continued growth and development of the Academy as a viable prosthodontic organization.

The evidence that attests to the leadership role of this Academy is the unshakable confidence exhibited from its original exclusive position to when the number of prosthodontic organizations grew to three, the coming of the FPO, followed later by the American College of Prosthodontists, and continued growth of dozens more prosthodontic organizations. The Academy met these changes, exhibiting tolerance and understanding, but also with the good sense to make cautious, judicious decisions when dealing with administrative and educational institutions, publishers of books and journals and other prosthodontic organizations. As a result, the Academy continues to control the publishing and distribution of the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms, supports Evidence Based Dentistry, maintains our Community Outreach Program, and openly consults with the American College of Prosthodontists, the ADA and others on numerous prosthodontic issues.

Originally, when the Academy was more restrictive with membership and the number and frequency of guest attendees, any mention of commercial participation was out of the question. As the number of new prosthodontic organizations grew, more meetings became available for dentists to attend as did more societies and academies with which dentists could choose to affiliate. Meetings became bigger and better with more amenities, but more expensive as a result. Members had some hard decisions to make and prudently, they relaxed restrictions on guest attendance and as costs continued to rise, they gradually encouraged corporate sponsorship to where it is today. Jonathan Wiens understands this situation well and with his permission, a partial summation of a recent communication from him follows. In his appraisal he masterfully describes one of the most vexing problems of this Academy, about which he said: "The Academy has prided itself on the ability to attract credible speakers who would be honored to be on our program without an honorarium or expense reimbursement, however, the costs of doing so make it difficult in today’s economic and educational environment". Dr. Clifford VanBlarcom also recognized this problem several years ago and he commenced work to develop specific budgetary guidelines for the Program Chair. Progress was made but no one could have possibly anticipated how difficult it would be to properly compensate speakers without a specific budget, further complicated with several categories of speaker. Dr. Wiens suggested that we revisit the Speaker Expense Reimbursement policies so the Program Chair would have an opportunity to develop a more stimulating scientific program without having to simultaneously function as a fund raiser. Several members, Drs. Howard Landesman, George Zarb, Ted Riley and others have been able to do this by being extremely accomplished in raising funds for their programs, but not everyone has those abilities. Those working to solve these problems are very knowledgeable and dedicated, and with help, their results will be excellent.

Money is critical to the resolution of the budget problem. The usual sources of money are dues, registration fees, corporate sponsorship, the AP Foundation, and the ICC (and to cut spending). These are considered in Council from time to time, and currently, corporate sponsorship, registration and guest fees show the most promise for a short-term resolution. The concept of Interim Council meetings may have originated about 20 years ago by Dr. Charles Bolender and his Council colleagues when they would meet to discuss matters of the Academy, possibly do a little fishing, but spend the majority of their time on Academy business, all at no expense to the Academy. Now, some years later, one of the most important Council activities in administering the affairs of the Academy is the Interim Council Meeting. The meeting is held every Fall at Chicago’s O’Hare airport to discuss the business of the Academy. Even though activities are held to a minimum, reimbursing airfare, hotel rooms and meals for 8-10 councilors is expensive for the Academy as well as the time and inconvenience of travel for the attendees. Videoconferencing was suggested as a way to conduct the Interim Council Meeting possibly to cut spending and eliminate travel, but follow-up research showed that videoconferencing would be far too expensive. Teleconferencing, however, is less complex, less expensive and is still being studied as a feasible option.

A recent review of several previous Presidents’ remarks left me troubled about a reminder from Dr. Landesman that many people still had no idea what a prosthodontist was. In concert with Dr. Gary Goldstein’s remarks, Dr. Landesman reminded us of the disturbing drop in the number of students enrolled in prosthodontic residency programs. Dr. Landesman’s solution was to target imminent dental school graduates for enrollment in residency programs and then concentrate research, educational and practice experience in the area of implant dentistry in order to permit prosthodontics to be recognized as an innovative specialty of the 21st century. About 4 years ago, Dr. Landesman said "I urge the Academy of Prosthodontics to become the first prosthodontic organization in the world to take the needed step and become the Academy of Prosthodontic and Implant Dentistry". The Academy of Prosthodontics is the most appropriate Academy to take this responsibility because those who introduced Professor P. I. Branemark to this continent, those who performed the first clinical trial of endosseous titanium-based implants in North America, those who first taught these methods to other dentists, and those who founded the Academy of Osseointegration and The International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, were all members of the Academy of Prosthodontics. Since I first heard of this proposal over 4 years ago, I have yet to see evidence of any follow-through activity. Recently, I received an announcement of such an implant course being offered being offered by the American College of Prosthodontists at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. I am not nearly as disturbed about the Prosthodontics problem as I am the apparent loss of opportunity due, possibly, to the lack of follow-through evaluation of a proposal. The members of this Academy are capable of hundreds of good ideas, but without taking action, good ideas are nothing more than a dream. In view of past oversights, a special Ad Hoc committee could be formed to see that every reasonable suggestion is recorded, prepared and submitted to the Executive Council for determination of its merit. The members of this Committee should be experienced, knowledgeable, have time available and a willingness to work responsibly together as a group rather than letting the Chair do the whole job.

Many of our members have made significant contributions to Academy activities. Regrettably, space does not permit speaking of them all now, but I would like to mention Past President Gary Rogoff’s initiation of our recent Strategic Planning activities which are so expertly planned and conducted by Dean Charles Goodacre. A lot was accomplished and I’m sure the follow-through and implementation of results will be equally impressive. In closing, I would like to start with offering congratulations to Stephen Campbell and Steven Eckert for their survival and extraordinary performance as Secretary-Treasurer and Recording Secretary. There are Executive Councils, and then there is our Executive Council to which I wish to express my appreciation for their support, their good nature, the fact that they can disagree without being disagreeable, that there are no politics, no hidden agendas, no cliques; just hardworking, brilliant, inspiring people fulfilling their purpose of doing everything they can in the best interest of the Academy, according to the wishes of the membership.

To our Local Arrangements people, Judy and Ron Jarvis, my sincere thanks for informing us of the impressive growth in Niagara Falls and for your diligence in developing an array of activities to be sure we all will have a great time. I wish to congratulate Jonathan Wiens, with commendation, for graciously serving seven years as Secretary-Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Academy Chief Financial Post Session Hotel Surcharges Negotiator, Academy Liaison Officer, and the role of Chaplain, which, of course he shares with Cliff VanBlarcom. In his spare time, as Program Chair, Dr. Wiens has worked in conjunction with all the other program committees to develop an outstanding Scientific Program that will be an inspiration to us all.

I would like to recognize and thank all of the other committee members who work in the background to help make this Academy function so well within our bounds and our interaction with other dental organizations outside our bounds. About a year ago, during the Installation activities, I said the level of greatnesss of an organization is a reflection of the nature of its members. That statement has been reaffirmed to me many times over this past year. Because of our past Fellows, who conceived this prestigious Academy, our present Fellows who continue to build upon our heritage, and because of the promise of our recently-inducted Fellows as the future leaders of the Academy, I am very optimistic about our future. I am truly honored to have had the responsibilities of this appointment as President and I hope I have served you well with enthusiasm and humility. Thank you.