April 2006 ■ Journal of Dental Education 441 Principal Dental Admissions Officers: Who Are Dentistry’s Gatekeepers? Michael L. Rowland, Ph.D.; Paul S. Casamassimo, D.D.S., M.S. Abstract: Little is known about principal dental admissions officers (PDAO) in U.S. dental schools who may be viewed as the gatekeepers to our schools. To address this gap, this study examined the characteristics of PDAOs in U.S. dental schools. A web- based, fifty-five-question survey on the personal and professional characteristics, roles, areas of responsibilities, and areas considered of importance to PDAOs was sent to fifty-six principal dental admissions officers at U.S. dental schools, followed by telephone calls to encourage participation. Thirty-eight PDAOs responded. The typical PDAO was Caucasian, fifty-two years of age, and had been in the position about eight years, earning $80,000 annually. Most supervised one or more employees and spent time working for the school outside the admissions process. Student contact activity considered most important was counseling prospective students, while maintaining health and financial records was considered unimportant. Minority recruitment efforts were considered highly important by a majority of PDAOs. The PDAOs have varied educational backgrounds and positions, but perform functions primarily dedicated to admissions. Dr. Rowland is Assistant Professor, Section of Primary Care and Director of Diversity; Dr. Casamassimo is Professor and Chair, Section of Pediatric Dentistry—both at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. Michael L. Rowland, Section of Primary Care, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Room 3166 Postle Hall, 305 West 12 th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210; 614-247-8621 phone; 614-292-0813 fax; rowland.3@osu.edu. Key words: dental admissions, admissions officer, recruitment, retention, underrepresented minority Submitted for publication 4/12/05; accepted 12/7/05 N umerous studies have been published on as- pects of the dental admissions process, in- cluding academic and personal criteria for admission, the Dental Admission Test, the use of noncognitive variables in the admissions process, importance of feeder schools, recruitment and reten- tion efforts, summer enrichment programs, and in- creasing racial and ethnic diversity in the dental pro- fession. 1-13 However, a search of dental education literature reveals no information regarding principal dental admissions officers at U.S. dental schools. Many people are involved with the admissions process, but the principal dental admissions officer (PDAO) and other personnel in the admissions of- fice are often the first contact that applicants and/or prospective students have with a dental school. The term “PDAO” is used in this article to refer to those individuals who have primary responsibility for man- agement and supervision of the dental admissions office. The image and tone set forth by PDAOs, who are often perceived internally and externally as gatekeepers to our institutions and the profession, play a crucial role in helping to select the next gen- eration of dentists. Factors impacting admissions such as techni- cal standards, background checks, disability and ac- commodations, and diversity, often begin and are propagated or applied by the admissions office. Court decisions on cases involving disability, race, and di- versity, such as California v. Bakke, 14 the Hopwood decision, 15 Proposition 209, 16 and the Michigan de- cision in Grutter vs. Bollinger, 17 have impacted how institutions carry out the admissions standards and enrollment goals. Cases such as these, along with changing demographics and social and political pres- sure, will continue to create new complexities and pose new challenges for PDAOs. In an effort to bet- ter understand those who have significant responsi- bility in admissions, our study investigated 1) the personal and professional characteristics of those serving as PDAOs, 2) the frequency and importance PDAOs attach to certain tasks and areas of responsi- bility, and 3) their student-contact and noncontact admissions-related activities that can be used to bet- ter understand the significant roles that PDAOs play and their contribution to the overall goals and suc- cess of dental schools. Methodology A web-based survey was used to obtain infor- mation about the personal and professional charac- teristics, roles, areas of responsibilities, and fre-