General Assembly Minutes – May 5, 2023
Call to Order
President Stefan I. Zweig called the 2023 General Assembly of the American Association of Endodontists to order at 8:50 a.m. on May 5, 2023, at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. A quorum of voting members was in attendance. President Zweig instructed the assembly on voting procedures for the meeting.
Approval of Rules
Rules for the 2023 General Assembly were developed for all voting members to understand and agree to the rules of order for the meeting. The proposed rules were published online with the General Assembly meeting materials.
GA-1 Moved: that the rules of the 2023 General Assembly be approved as presented.
Motion Carried.
Approval of Parliamentarian
President Zweig appointed Dr. Mark Desrosiers to serve as parliamentarian for the 2023 General Assembly.
Approval of Minutes
President Zweig called for approval of the minutes of the 2022 General Assembly as published in the Communiqué.
GA-2 Moved: That the 2022 General Assembly Minutes be approved as published.
Motion Carried.
Report of Special Committee to Evaluate a Hybrid General Assembly
Dr. Patrick E. Taylor, Chair of the Special Committee to Evaluate a Hybrid General Assembly, presented the committee’s report, which was published in the Communiqué and posted on the AAE website and AAE23 app. The committee evaluated input from legal and parliamentary experts, reviewed practices of similar organizations, and reviewed technology requirements, costs, and personnel requirements for holding a hybrid meeting. The committee recommended that the AAE not pursue a hybrid General Assembly meeting at this time, and the AAE Board supported the committee’s recommendation. The report of the special committee was informational and no motions were presented.
Reports of Officers
Written reports from the AAE President, Secretary, and Treasurer were made available to members online prior to the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
AAE Treasurer, Dr. Craig Noblett, reported that for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2022, the AAE had an operating surplus after investment earnings of $988,000. Strategic initiative spending totaled $396,000 resulting in a bottom line surplus of $592,000. Strategic initiatives focus on the public (Worth Saving & Root Canal Truth), profession (advocacy), and membership.
In addition, AAE received a clean audit from its independent auditors, indicating that financial operations not only comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, but also that the association is financially sound and that the Board of Directors has operated responsibly and in the best interest of the AAE and its membership.
Dr. Noblett reviewed AAE Operating Revenues, Expenses, and Operating Surplus, Strategic Initiatives, and Total Surplus/Deficit for the years ending June 2020 through June 2022. Revenues and expenses in 2020 and 2021 were impacted by COVID restrictions, including the cancellation of AAE20 and the virtual AAE21. The impact of those events were significantly offset by an insurance claim in both years.
The 2022 actual results for the current fiscal year are also impacted by COVID with the return of an in person annual meeting and the receipt of government funding. AAE was granted PPP loan forgiveness and an Employee Retention Credit totaling $721,000. The current Fiscal Year is forecasted with an operating surplus of $194,000 and a total deficit of ($435,000). The projected deficit also includes expenses related to strategic initiatives. These final results are lower than last year, due to no one-time government funding.
The AAE Investment balance at June 30, 2022 equaled $11.9 million and was 100% of the 2022 annual expenses. AAE is in a strong financial position with investments equal to 100% of one year’s expenses, allowing the association to continue spending on strategic initiatives to advance the interests of members.
Dr. Noblett reported that the Board of Directors approved a Fiscal Year 24 budget projecting revenue of $12,252,000, expenses of $12,780,000, investment earnings of $221,000 with an operating deficit of ($307,000). This deficit is greater than the current year, as we expect AAE to eventually recover to prior year levels for membership and events in the next couple of years.
The board is advancing the strategic plan which focuses on expanding the public’s awareness of endodontics, the dental profession’s value of the endodontic specialty and supporting members to advance the specialty. The board approved additional funding for the strategic initiatives in the amount of $667,000. This will be funded in Fiscal Year Budget 24 through the use of the reserve funds. This strategic spending level is greater than the past four years. AAE’s strong financial position enables the association to invest in new initiatives to strengthen the specialty.
Journal of Endodontics Report
JOE Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Kenneth M. Hargreaves, reported continued advances in the Journal of Endodontics.
JOE continues to attract noteworthy papers from researchers and clinicians around the world. There has been a 206% increase in the number of new manuscripts submitted to the JOE from 2003-2022.
This increase is attributed to the web-based manuscript submission system started in 2004 and to the increasing stature of the Journal. This increase in submissions consisted of many manuscripts of good quality. In addition to the 947 new manuscripts submitted in 2020, an additional 223 revised manuscripts were submitted in response to a prior review. Thus, the Editorial Board reviewed a total of 1,170 manuscripts submitted in 2021, which equates to about 3.2 papers submitted every day throughout the year. It is believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on increased submissions in 2020, with a reversion to the mean in 2021 and 2022.
With more than 450 endodontists and scientists from more than 25 countries currently serving as members of our Scientific Advisory Board the JOE represents a substantial commitment to excellence by AAE members and endodontists around the world.
The JOE has developed an outstanding Impact Factor over the last two decades. The 2021 impact factor ranks the JOE #15 out of a total of 109 dental journals. Other measures are also quite strong: in 2021, the JOE generated considerably more total citations and published more papers than the IEJ. (6,955 vs 5,807) The 2022 Impact Factor will be published in the summer of 2023.
JOE Awards were presented at the Scientific Advisory Board reception, recognizing the best articles in the categories of Basic Research: Biology, Basic Research: Technology, Case Reports and Clinical Techniques, Clinical Research, Regenerative Endodontics, Systematic and Scoping Reviews, and Narrative Reviews. In addition, 14 papers published in 2022 received Honorable Mentions.
Nominations for next year’s awards will open in the fall and members are encouraged to submit nominations to recognize their peers who are shaping the future of endodontics.
Foundation for Endodontics
Foundation for Endodontics President Dr. Margot T. Kusienski reported that the Foundation has made progress on year one of its strategic plan, with goals focusing on research, education, access to care, and engagement.
The Foundation has provided funding and resources to help the specialty continually evolve. In 2022 the Foundation budgeted nearly $1.1 million to support research, educators, access to care, and residents.
The Foundation is continually striving to support the next generation of endodontists and committed educators, by helping launch and develop their careers. Programs supporting this effort include the Annual Meeting Resident Development Scholarship and the ADEA Leadership Institute Scholarship.
Bi-annual Competitive Research Grants and Resident Research Grants provide funding to ensure the growth and development of science to improve patient outcome.
The Endodontic Educator Fellowship Award helps to ensure that endodontics, at every level, is being taught by skilled endodontists. Dr. Frederico Canato Martinho, clinical associate professor at University of Maryland School of Dentistry, was recognized as the 2022 Endodontic Educator Fellow.
Since the launch of the Foundation’s domestic access to care support program two years ago, AAE members have had the opportunity to seek funding to positively impact their community with free access to the highest level of specialty care to underserved patients.
Although the pandemic put the international access to care program on hold, Foundation volunteers returned to Jamaica in 2022. The Foundation continues to explore other international programs with which to partner.
During the 2022 – 2023 campaign, Foundation supporters created tributes to Dr. Scott M. McClanahan and the AAE Alliance. The funds raised by each of these efforts will support two Full-time Educator Development Grant, to ensure professional development needs are being met.
Dr. Kusienski recognized and thanked the Foundation’s first time and repeat contributions from industry partners, and encouraged members to become Foundation donors.
American Board of Endodontics Report
ABE President Dr. Melissa M. Drum presented the report of the American Board of Endodontics. Dr. Drum reported that the ABE continues to receive positive feedback on the ABE’s new site for the Oral Exam.
In 2022, the ABE examined 187 Oral Exam candidates and reviewed 107 Case History Portfolios. The Written Exam was administered over two days through Pearson Vue testing centers to 226 examinees.
The Written Exam 2023 returns to a one day administration through Pearson Vue and will take place on May 16, 2023 for the ABE’s 224 registrants. 84 ABE Diplomates completed their Recertification requirement in 2022.
Dr. Drum expressed the ABE’s thanks to dedicated past Directors who continue to volunteer and serve as examiners for both the Case History and Oral Exams.
The ABE has updated recertification guidelines, and created detailed descriptive manuals for any future Board members and Board staff, allowing for efficient workflow and protecting the Board during any unanticipated sudden transitions.
ABE staff were thanked for their contributions to the ABE’s success. She encouraged interested members to nominate themselves for Board service.
Dr. Drum congratulated the 91 new ABE diplomates who were honored during the 2023 Grossman Ceremony.
Presentation of ABE Nominees
ABE President Dr. Melissa Drum presented the following slate of nominees for ABE Directors:
Dr. Anibal R. Diogenes
Dr. Scott L. Doyle
Dr. Frank R. Portell
Dr. Drum also announced the ABE’s officers for 2023-2024:
Dr. Bradford R. Johnson, President
Dr. Avina K. Paranjpe, Vice President
Dr. Meetu R. Kohli, Secretary
Dr. Neville J. McDonald, Treasurer
Nominating Committee Report
AAE Nominating Committee Chair, Dr. Keith V. Krell presented the slate of nominees for AAE officers and Foundation for Endodontics Trustees:
American Association of Endodontists
President: Craig S. Hirschberg
President-Elect: Natasha M. Flake
Vice President: Steven J. Katz
Secretary: Elizabeth S. Perry
Treasurer: W. Craig Noblett
Immediate Past President: Stefan I. Zweig
Foundation for Endodontics Trustee
Carla Y. Falcon
Moein Sadrkhani
Robert S. Roda
Alejandro M. Aguirre
Bruce C. Justman
Foundation for Endodontics Public Sector Representatives
Barbara Nordquist
Tom Von Sydow
Blake Brownell
Dr. Krell also announced the 2023-24 officers for the Foundation for Endodontics which have been elected by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees:
President: Margot T. Kusienski
President-elect: Patricia Tordik
Treasurer: Anthony T. Borgia
Secretary: Fiza Singh
District Director Nominees
President Stefan I. Zweig presented the slate of nominees for District Director positions:
District I: Harold J. Martinez
District II: Lorel E. Burns
District III: Robert W. Heydrich
District VI: Lauren E. Jensen
District VII: Bryan F. Mansour
Election of Board Members
There being no other nominees, the slate of nominees for Officers and Directors of the AAE, Directors of the American Board of Endodontics, and Trustees of the Foundation for Endodontics were elected for terms beginning in 2023.
New AAE officers and district directors, ABE directors, and AAE Foundation trustees took an oath to abide by the Constitution and Bylaws of the American Association of Endodontists and the Bylaws of the respective organizations to which they have been elected, and to discharge their duties and responsibilities to the best of their abilities
Outgoing President’s Remarks
Immediate Past President Stefan I. Zweig thanked the Assembly for the opportunity to serve as AAE President and discussed how the AAE’s new strategic plan will continue to support the specialty, its members, and patients. Dr. Zweig discussed the theme of his Presidency: recognition and response to change. He encouraged the membership to view changes as opportunities for improvement and advancement rather than as obstacles. Dr. Zweig congratulated Dr. Hirschberg on beginning his term as President.
Incoming President’s Remarks
President Hirschberg addressed the Assembly and shared his appreciation for the opportunity to serve the AAE. Dr. Hirschberg expressed his gratitude to those who have mentored and supported him.
Dr. Hirschberg remarked on the many advancements in endodontics that have occurred throughout his career, noting that change is inevitable. He reflected on the variety of practice options that new graduates now have and noted that the AAE is here to support all members in their chosen practice settings. Dr. Hirschberg shared his own career evolution from clinical practice to full time academics, and his introduction to volunteer leadership at the AAE. He spoke to AAE’s commitment to develop the next generation of endodontic leaders through the leadership development program, and encouraged members to nominate themselves for committee service. Dr. Hirschberg encouraged members to contribute to the specialty by considering teaching part time in endodontic, dental, GPR and AEGD programs, as well as contributing to the Foundation for Endodontics.
Dr. Hirschberg thanked colleagues, mentors, and family members who have supported his growth, and thanked the membership for the privilege to serve as AAE President.
New Business
No new business was submitted for consideration by the Assembly.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the 2023 Meeting of the AAE General Assembly was adjourned at 9:40 a.m.