Academic Careers

in Dentistry

Presented by the ADEA

Center for Educational Policy and Research

“A teacher affects eternity;

he can never tell where his influence stops.”

Henry Adams

The Education of Henry Adams, 1907

Exciting Opportunities Exist in Dental

and Allied Dental Education,

Research and Community

Service through Academic Dental

Institutions

“A student wants to feel that the instructor is not simply passing on dead knowledge in the form that it was passed on to him, but that he has assimilated it and has read his own experience into it, so that it has come to mean more to him than almost anything in the world.”

Randolph Bourne, Youth and Life, 1913

LIFE IN ACADEMIA

Course content investigation and impact on curricular design

Shaping the future of the profession through sharing knowledge and experience with students

Staying young through interaction with and mentoring of students

Preparing and training aspiring professionals and scholars

Teaching and Mentoring

“By academic freedom I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right implies also a duty: one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true.”

Albert Einstein, letter, March 13, 1954

Research and Discovery

Contribution to the development of the profession

Creative use of the latest knowledge, materials, and technologies

Exciting scientific discoveries and their application to improve the quality of life

LIFE IN ACADEMIAcont’d

Pride and excitement associated with being part of the scientific process

“ The constituency of academic medical centers, like that of the university, went beyond those individuals who taught and studied there. …academic medical centers, like their parent institutions, accepted the duty of utility—that is, of providing service to the society that supported them and allowed them to pursue their scientific interests.”

Kenneth M. Ludmer

Time to Heal, Oxford University Press, 1999

LIFE IN ACADEMIA cont’d

Serving as practitioners, advisors and decision-makers within the local and professional communities

Educating the public about the value of oral health

Addressing access to care issues by providing service to the underserved and disadvantaged populations

Providing hands-on patient care

Patient Care and Community Service

“The art of leading, …is the art of dealing with humanity, of working diligently on behalf of men, of being sympathetic with them, but equally, of insisting that they make a square facing toward their own problems.”

S.L.A. Marshall

Men Against Fire, 1947

LIFE IN ACADEMIAcont’d

Intellectual stimulation and collaborations with colleagues

Dr. Carroll-Ann Trotman, Associate Professor of Orthodontics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, is congratulated by then-ADEA President Dr. Rowland Hutchinson

upon graduating from the ADEA Leadership Institute, March 2001.

Interaction with leaders in dental and health professions education

Freedom to achieve teaching, administrative, clinical and research goals

Setting the agenda for dental education, research and general health care nationally and internationally

Professional Leadership

“What constitutes the teacher is the passion to make scholars.”

George Herbert Palmer

The Teacher, Essays and Addresses on Education: The Ideal Teacher, 1908.

Joy of teaching and continual intellectual stimulation

Benefits and Opportunities of an Academic Career:

Dr. Richard Ranney is a Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Medicine and Senior Policy Fellow, Center

for Education Policy and Research at ADEA

Enhanced opportunities for professional leadership

Varied daily activities

Travel to national and international meetings—connecting with colleagues

Employer-sponsored benefits, including retirement

Association with academic leadership for dentistry around the world

Research and excitement of discovery

Appreciation from students and colleagues

Loan repayment opportunities for dental faculty

Benefits and Opportunities of Academic Career:cont’d

Dr. Gerald Glickman, Professor and Chair, Department of Endodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry, serves on the

ADEA Board of Directors as the Vice President for Sections.

Involvement in a variety of university activities (sports, arts, lectures, etc.)

Can’t make a decent living in academia

No additional debt from starting/managing a private practice

Excellent benefits, including retirement

Base salary may be supplemented through patentable research, writing textbooks, public speaking and other academic endeavors

Federal and State loan forgiveness programs are available for young faculty

There is less individual freedom

Academic lifestyle is exciting and lacks the daily routine of private practice

A

A variety of career tracks and clinical teaching is available to fit your interests

One must publish or perish

A View of Dentistry from Academia

Dentistry in not only a vocation, but—in an academic context—an exciting professional career on the cutting edge of research and intimately involved in the production of

new knowledge

Getting Started

Talk with your professor, program director, department chair and/or dean about your interest

Seek guidance from the academic affairs/admissions department

Ask to shadow your instructor in the clinic, in the laboratory, and/or in the classroom

Students:

Student representatives at the 2003 Annual Session in San Antonio, TX.

Getting Started

Consider additional training in advanced programs, including DDS/PhD, MPH, MBA and other programs

Find out about additional training/experiences in scholarly activities (e.g. educational methodologies, research, public health, research)

Students: (cont’d)

Getting Started Private and Military Practitioners:

Contact Dean or relevant department chair at your local school/program about part-time positions

Adjunct appointments provide a welcome change from the daily routine of private practice, and an opportunity to share your knowledge and experience

Opportunities exist for full-time non-tenure track clinical teaching appointments for those seeking a career change

Gain additional training/leadership experience for full-time academic appointments and advancement

Future of Academic Dentistry

Academic dentistry as an essential part of a “health team” alongside the academic medical community

As a young, bright, ambitious academic you have a superb opportunity to shape the future of the profession and dental education for generations to come

Academic dentistry as a tremendous opportunity for leaders, visionaries and entrepreneurs who can ignite and motivate the profession

Council of Students representatives at the 2004 ADEA Annual Session in San Antonio, Texas

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank the following individuals for their contribution:

Dr. Richard Ranney

Dr. Gerald Glickman

Dr. Caroll-Ann Trotman

Prof. Nancy Zinser

Prof. Kathi Shepherd

Members of the CEPR Advisory Committee: Dr. Michael Alfano, Mr. Robert Dickler, Dr. Raul Garcia, Dr. Jay Gershen, Mr. Robert Johns, Prof. Kathleen Morr, Dr. Marian Osterwise, Dr. Kathleen Roth