Donald R. Joondeph, DDS, MS, has been elected to serve as the next chairman of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), according to an announcement from the AAO.
Joondeph has served as CODA’s commissioner from the AAO since 2007. He is the first commissioner representing orthodontics to be elected chairman under CODA’s current structure. His 1-year term as chairman begins following the October 12, 2010, conclusion of the ADA’s Annual Session.
CODA was established in 1975 to accredit dental and dental-related education programs conducted at the postsecondary level. It is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is charged with serving the public through establishing, maintaining, and applying standards that ensure the quality and continuous improvement of dental and dental-related education and reflect the evolving practice of dentistry. It functions independently and autonomously in matters of developing and approving accreditation standards, making accreditation decisions on educational programs and developing and approving procedures that are used in the accreditation process.
“CODA protects the quality of patient care by ensuring the quality of dental education,” Joondeph said. “Our mission is quality assurance in all aspects of dental education in the United States."
In addition to his work on CODA, Joondeph is the chairman of the AAO Task Force on Recruitment and Retention of Faculty. He is a professor emeritus of orthodontics at the University of Washington, where he was chair of the department from 1975 to 1984.
Joondeph was AAO president for 2006-2007 and a member of the AAO Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2008. He is a past president of several organizations, including the ABO, the Northwest Component of the Edward H. Angle Society, the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists, and the Washington State Society of Orthodontists.
A diplomate of the ABO, Joondeph combines his faculty responsibilities with a private orthodontic practice in Bellevue, Wash.
