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AAO Foundation
401 N. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63141-7816
800/424-2841 ext. 546
Fax: 314/993-5208
aaofevp@aaortho.org

American Association of Orthodontists Foundation Fact Sheet

July 20, 2010

Awards Program: 

Goal of the Awards Program

  • AAOF Mission is “to advance the orthodontic specialty by supporting education and research.”
  • Foundation funding designed to ensure the future viability of the specialty, by investing in the next generation of educators and researchers.

Since 1994, the AAO Foundation Awards Program has provided $6.9 million in funding, primarily in support of Junior Faculty, including:

  • 135 Fellowship Awards
  • 148 Research Awards
  • Over 1,000 Gifts in Support of Orthodontic Education

Support for Junior Faculty has resulted in:

  • Publications – over 100 articles and abstracts, most of which have been published in journals within orthodontics, but many in journals outside the specialty and the profession.
  • Lectures – scores of lectures at dental, orthodontic and at other scientific meetings as well.   
  • Professional advancement – to date at the 70 graduate orthodontic residency programs in the US and Canada there are:
    • 22 Department chairs and/or program directors funded while Junior Faculty
    • Numerous tenured, associate and full professor positions
    • Nine NIH funding recipients
  • 80% of Junior Faculty supported by the AAOF remain in full-time academics after five years.
  • On the AAOF web site, there are Final Reports from some 250 peer-reviewed, funded proposals.

In addition to support of Junior Faculty, the Foundation has created the AAOF Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection designed to preserve representative materials from the participating orthodontic collections.

Since 1994, the AAO Foundation Awards Program has contributed to orthodontic education and research as follows:

  • $6.9 million in funding, primarily in support of Junior Faculty, including:
    • 135 Fellowship Awards
    • 148 Research Awards
    • Over 1,000 Gifts in Support of Orthodontic Education
  • At the 70 graduate orthodontic residency programs in the US and Canada, there are 22 Department Chairs and/or Program Directors who have been directly supported by the AAOF early in their academic careers.
  • 80% of Junior Faculty supported by the AAOF remain in full-time academics after five years.

·         On the AAOF web site, there are Final Reports from 250 peer-reviewed, funded proposals.

·         Creation of the AAOF Craniofacial Growth Legacy Collection, designed to preserve a representative sample from the participating orthodontic collections.

2010 Awards
At the most recent meeting of the AAOF BOD, the Directors approved ten (10) Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Awards (OFDFA).

2011 Awards
For next funding round, the Directors approved $150,000 in OFDFA and $30,000 in Educational Innovation Awards for an aggregate of $180,000.

Continued Commitment to the Specialty® Campaign:  realized $34 million in pledges, of which $24.5 million has already been redeemed as of July 1, 2010.  The campaign has seen numerous pledges from Constituent and Component Societies, AAOF Corporate Partners, Friends of the Specialty (including AAO and constituent society staff), but the vast majority of all funds pledged have come from AAO members.

The focus of the campaign is three-fold, i.e., Participation, Regents, and Planned Giving.

·         Participation – one-third of all AAO members have pledged Continued Commitment to the Specialty®, i.e.,the amount of a full treatment case, usually redeemed over three to five years.  This includes 1,116 members of the Foundation’s Vanguard Society, i.e., those individuals who pledge while orthodontic residents.

·         Regents – AAOF Regents are those persons who pledge a minimum of $25,000 over as much as ten years, i.e., the equivalent of a case every two years.  While representing only eight percent of all pledges, the 519 AAOF Regents account for some 40 percent of all dollars pledged.

·         Planned Giving – AAO members are asked to consider including orthodontics in general and the AAO Foundation in particular in their estate plans.  Those individuals who inform the Foundation that they have made this commitment to the Foundation are considered members of the AAOF Keystone Society.  Currently 230 individuals have made this commitment.

AAOF Web Site:  You may reach the Foundation’s web page through the AAO Home Page, or directly at www.aaofoundation.net. 

For more information: If you should have any questions, please call Robert Hazel, AAOF EVP, at 800-424-2841, #ext. 546.