The Canadian Council of Graduate Orthodontic Program Directors (CCGOPD) celebrated its 10th anniversary at a meeting held April 13-16 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
The CCGPOD was created when the Canadian Association of Orthodontists (CAO) sponsored a meeting in Toronto in 2002 between the program directors of the 5 Canadian graduate orthodontic programs and representatives from the CAO. The focus of that meeting was to establish closer ties among Canadian graduate orthodontic programs which, at the time, operated mostly in isolation of each other. One of the main goals was to encourage a coordinated approach to matters such as recruitment and retention, accreditation, curriculum, staffing and financial challenges and resource sharing.
Dr. Claude Remise from the University of Montreal served as the inaugural chair of the CCGOPD and handed over the reins to Dr. Billy Wiltshire as chair 3 years ago.
The CCGOPD meets biannually with financial assistance provided by the CAO and 3M Unitek. The next CCGOPD meeting will be held in Ottawa on September 5, 2012, coinciding with the CAO's 64th Annual Scientific Session.
Participants at the 10th anniversary celebration of the CCGOPD (L. to r.): Drs. Ed Yen, University of British Columbia; Richard Marcus, CAO; Gerry Solomon, CAO; Bryan Tompson, University of Toronto; Mr. Silvano Brecevic, 3M Unitek; Antonios Mamandras, University of Western Ontario; Carlos Flores-Mir, University of Alberta; Billy Wiltshire, University of Manitoba; Claude Remise, University of Montreal.
