Karl Haden to present at 33rd annual ethics lecture

Karl Haden, Ph.D., presents “Ethics, Leadership and the Future of the Dental Profession” on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, as part of the School of Dentistry’s Mirmelstein Ethics Lecture. The annual lecture is part of the school’s continuing education program.

The virtual lecture begins at 9:00 a.m. and will explore the connection between ethics and leadership. Participants will learn how specific virtues such as courage, hope, and humility are essential to their roles as leaders in the profession. Dr. Haden will also discuss the perils of self-interest and how to incorporate legitimate forms of self-interest into one’s career and personal life.

Preregistration is required to attend.

Haden is the Founder and President of the Academy for Advancing Leadership (AAL). Based in Atlanta, Dr. Haden has worked globally with over 150 institutions of higher education as well as numerous associations and businesses. With a focus on health professions education, Dr. Haden’s consultation and professional development engagements have included clients from dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, allied health, and medicine. Dr. Haden’s areas of expertise include leadership development, the ethics of leadership, organizational change, team building, strategic planning, curriculum development and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

About the Mirmelstein Ethics Lecture

Cyril R. Mirmelstein graduated from the College of William and Mary then entered the MCV School of Dentistry in 1938. His education was marked by hard work and good friendships. 

“With a class of 28 guys, we were a close-knit group and many friendships endured for years,” he said.

After earning his dental degree in 1942, Mirmelstein spent a short time as an instructor in the school before serving in World War II. When he returned from service, Mirmelstein entered private practice in Newport News, Va., and retired in 1990.

Throughout his career, Mirmelstein served his profession, his school and his community through generous volunteer activities. A longstanding member of the Virginia Dental Association, he was also active with the State Board of Dentistry and served as the organization’s president and as a member of the Southern Regional Testing Agency. 

The MCV Alumni Association named him its Outstanding Alumnus in 1998 for his many contributions to his alma mater and to dentistry.

Mirmelstein established the Cyril R. Mirmelstein Ethics Lectureship in 1988. His objectives were to educate and stimulate faculty and students to become aware of their responsibility to dental and professional ethics, to pioneer an ongoing program that would be effective in achieving these goals by stressing the satisfaction derived from the dental profession, and to establish an ongoing program that would gain national recognition and serve as a model for other schools.

Through Mirmelstein’s generosity and imagination, the lectureship has grown, nurtured and supported new generations of students, and become an integral part of the school’s curriculum.

To learn more about the school’s lectureships, professorships, special endowments and scholarships, visit Reflections, a special area of the school’s website at dentistry.vcu.edu, that showcases alumni and donor philanthropy.