Dean of the School of Dentistry Leadership Profile 2022
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Texas A&M University College of Dentistry invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean. The Dean, who reports to the Provost and Executive Vice President, is a key leader within Texas A&M University Health Science Center and will lead the College of Dentistry as it advances oral health in the state of Texas and beyond.
HISTORY
Texas A&M College of Dentistry is the largest dental healthcare provider in the north Texas. It was established in 1905 as State Dental College, a private, three-year dental school located above a downtown Dallas grocery store where the Adolphus Hotel now stands. The college was founded by Dr. David E. Morrow and Dr. T.G. Bradford, two St. Louis dentists who came to Dallas specifically to open a dental school. In 1916, an advisory board of eight Dallas County Dental Society members assumed management of the college. Two years later, the school’s advisory board voted to merge State Dental College with Baylor University and rename the school Baylor University College of Dentistry. The quality of education offered by the college flourished, resulting in national recognition and a “Class A” accreditation rating. The dental school thrived during the 1920s, with basic science classes taught by faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, which was then located in Dallas. In 1943, however, the M.D. Anderson Foundation offered tempting incentives to both the medical and dental schools if they moved to Houston. The medical school accepted, while the dental school chose to remain in Dallas. The College struggled after the medical school’s departure, but successfully rebuilt its faculty and launched a building campaign that resulted in the opening of a new 45,000-square-foot clinic building in 1950. A basic science wing, completed in 1954, included space for a dental hygiene school. In 1955, the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene—one of about 20 dental hygiene programs in the nation at the time—admitted 32 students in its first class. In 1971, the dental school separated from Baylor University to qualify for state funding and was renamed Baylor College of Dentistry. Soon after the separation, the college began planning a new, state-of-the art addition and renovation of the dental school, which was completed in 1977. The College’s board of trustees began discussing the possibility of aligning with a major university system in the early 1990s. In 1995, the trustees voted to merge with The Texas A&M University System. The merger became effective in September 1996. In addition to helping the college maintain long-term financial stability, the A&M System offered the opportunity for collaboration among components. In 1999, the College of Dentistry became a founding member of the Texas A&M Health Science Center.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY TODAY
Texas A&M College of Dentistry shapes the future of dentistry by developing exemplary clinicians, educators and scientists. The college improves oral health by caring for the needs of a diverse community; seeking innovations in science, education and health care delivery; and serving as leaders in health professions education. The College is home to 416 D.D.S., 115 graduate, and 59 dental hygiene students and offers 4 degrees (D.D.S., B.S. in Dental Hygiene, M.S. in Oral Biology, and Ph.D. in Oral and Craniofacial Biomedical Sciences) as well as 10 advanced clinical certificate programs. There are 216 faculty (fulltime and part-time) while the number of full-time and part-time staff is approximately 224. With nearly 60 active research grants and funded training programs, Texas A&M College of Dentistry is a leader in oral health-based biomedical science and clinical research endeavors, ranging from the genetic regulation of mineralized tissue development, to the evaluation of craniofacial manifestations of cancer patients, and to the development of novel strategies and products for combating craniofacial oral diseases. The college also operates a variety of clinics and specialty clinics across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The College of Dentistry opened a new $127 million, 160,000-square-foot, nine-story Clinic and Education building in 2020. The new building — featuring nearly 300 dental-chair stations with the most advanced technology, specialized clinics, clinical support areas, classrooms and study spaces — is the first stand-alone building constructed for the dental school since 1950. As a result of these new facilities, the capacity for patient visits, which currently number approximately 100,000 per year, is expected to increase by up to 40 percent. To address the shortage of dental health care providers in the state’s underserved areas, the dental school’s goal is to increase enrollment while maintaining its position as one of the nation’s most diverse dental schools. The College of Dentistry is located at Dallas, one of the fastest growing cosmopolitan cities with great ethnic and culture diversities, and spectacular advancement and innovation of technology. The College is surrounded by the world-class research and medical institutes, such as UT Southwestern Medical Center and Baylor Scott and White Health.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER With programs in dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health and medical sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center is one of the most comprehensive academic health centers in the nation with 8 campus locations and several other community outreach programs across the state. Texas A&M Health Science Center provides connectivity to and potential impact in nearly every county in Texas. Texas A&M Health Science Center offers 26 degree programs to 3,200 health profession students. Over 40 major clinical affiliates and 97 affiliated residency programs also comprise Texas A&M Health Science Center. The Health Science Center is also home to a number of innovative research and educational institutes such as the Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT). Established as a free-standing unit by the Texas A&M Board of Regents in 1986, the IBT fosters innovative research at the intersection of biomedical sciences and technology and is one of the founding components of the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. The institute is organized into four Research Centers of Excellence, each positioned to address critical issues in biomedicine and health care including epigenetics and disease prevention, genomics and precision medicine, infectious diseases and inflammation and translational cancer research.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Texas A&M opened its doors in 1876 as the state’s first public institution of higher learning. Today, it stands as a research-intensive flagship university dedicated to sending Aggie leaders out into the world prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow. Located in the heart of the Houston-Dallas-Austin triangle and within a two-hour drive of 26 million of the state’s 28 million residents, Texas A&M’s main campus in College Station is home to more than 69,000 students. Another 5,200 are at the branch campuses in Galveston, Qatar, the School of Law, the Higher Education Center at McAllen, and Health Science Center locations across Texas. With 133 undergraduate degree programs, 175 master’s degree programs, 92 doctoral degree programs and 5 first professional degrees as options for study, Texas A&M is full of possibilities. Texas A&M University has recently developed new and innovative interdisciplinary program, EnMed, which is a tripartite collaboration between Texas A&M’s College of Engineering, College of Medicine and the state’s top-ranked Houston Methodist Hospital. This collaboration was established to transform healthcare through translational interdisciplinary research, the
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY development of medical technologies, and the development and training of “Physicianeers”, a new kind of problem-solving doctor uniquely qualified to address some of healthcare’s greatest challenges. Its establishment testifies the aspiration and creativity of the Texas A&M University to lead and promote the higher education via interdisciplinary collaboration.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AT THE COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY Texas A&M University College of Dentistry is an environment comprised of faculty, staff, students, and patients who represent a vast array of cultural backgrounds, preferences, and beliefs. College of Dentistry identifies diversity and inclusiveness among its core values and is committed to maintaining a climate that cultivates a lifelong sense of belonging. We define diversity as the inclusion, welcoming, and support of individuals from all groups, encompassing the various characteristics of persons in our community. The characteristics can include, but are not limited to: age, background, citizenship, disability, education, ethnicity, family status, gender, gender identity/expression, geographical location, language, military experience, political views, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and work experience. Those within the college are expected to show respect for individual differences, seek to understand and value the perspectives of others, and participate in the creation and sustainability of an accessible environment that promotes fairness and equality. Similarly, the college commits to increasing access to dental care and improving the oral health of the diverse community of Texans through the provision of culturally sensitive care for patients within the college and at community sites in the northeast Texas area and throughout the state. Goals and strategies for achieving exclusive excellence are detailed in the Texas A&M University College of Dentistry Diversity and Inclusion Plan.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS The successful candidate for this position must be prepared and ready to accept the challenge of being a visionary leader, experienced administrator, collaborator, and partner. Therefore, the successful candidate must hold a D.D.S., D.M.D., or equivalent and have a proven record of academic leadership and experience in managing academic programs. In addition, it is preferred that the Dean possesses: •
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Demonstrated success promoting research and competitive extramural funding as well as a record of excellence as an established scholar commensurate with holding the rank of full professor; Proven ability to recruit, retain, and foster the professional careers of faculty and staff; Capacity to actively engage as well as listen to and understand the needs of faculty, staff, and students; Demonstrated success in facilitating change in a large, complex organization; Experience in fundraising and strategic planning; Proven commitment to creating an inclusive environment that embraces diversity and that fosters community and mutual respect; Proficiency in fiscal management and a high comfort level in working in decentralized budgeting systems, such as responsibility center management; Demonstrated commitment to quality in the delivery of academic programs; Intellectual vision, high levels of energy, impeccable integrity, and other personal qualities that will inspire the college community to attain new levels of excellence; Collaborative approach towards other campus leaders; and The desire to improve the oral health of the state of Texas and beyond.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY POSITION EXPECTATIONS As the leader of the College of Dentistry, the Dean is expected to design, communicate and execute a strategic vision for clinical education, patient care, research and technology innovation of the College in alignment with the long-term goals and development of Texas A&M University. Key areas of emphasis of the next Dean include, but are not limited to: • • • • • • • • • • •
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Provide strategic oversight and expertise for all aspects of the College, including positive representation of the College within the Texas A&M enterprise and beyond; Lead the strategic planning, growth and development of the College; Expand and enhance the strength of the research programs within the College, building on existing strengths and creating new areas of research excellence; Ensure the financial health of the College and be knowledgeable in business processes and entrepreneurial endeavors; Build a strong, innovative, and sustainable clinical enterprise based on evidence-based best practices; Lead and assist in securing extramural and philanthropic resources necessary for the growth and improvement of the College; Develop close, cooperative relationships with other leaders at Texas A&M to cultivate a community of mutual respect advanced by meaningful interaction; Build a strong network of community alliances and support and draw upon this network to shape the future of the College across its missions; Ensure that the College has effective programs of student recruitment, advising and student success activities; Manage recruitment and retention of key personnel for expansion and innovation of future clinical, research, and teaching endeavors; Communicate the values, mission and accomplishments of the College and the University effectively to all major stakeholder groups including students, faculty, alumni, community leaders, and dental colleagues; Develop a forward-looking plan for the College based upon realistic and data-based projection for dentistry and dental education; Engage and actively support organized dentistry at the local, state, and national level; Encourage and support involvement in diverse student professional organizations; and Provide and promote open communication within the College so that transparency yields improved opportunities for the College’s success.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY APPLICATION PROCESS The Search Committee invites nominations and applications (a letter of application that addresses the responsibilities and requirements described in the position description, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of five or more references) to be submitted to the search firm assisting the College. References will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval of candidates. Confidential review of materials will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. These materials should be sent electronically to the search firm consultant. For full consideration, it is preferred that all nominations and applications be submitted by May 13, 2022. Porsha L. Williams, Vice President Jacob C. Anderson, Senior Principal Parker Executive Search Five Concourse Parkway, Suite 2875 Atlanta, GA 30328 770-804-1996 ext. 111 pwilliams@parkersearch.com || janderson@parkersearch.com
The Texas A&M University System shall provide equal opportunity for employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity through the System for faculty and staff employees. Additionally, we must ensure employees know University and System policies and procedures. Furthermore, we need to encourage and foster a workplace community where individuals are valued for their diverse backgrounds and differences.