Description

Chair, Department of Endodontics

Virginia Commonwealth University

School of Dentistry

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry is seeking applicants for a full-time faculty position as Chair in the Department of Endodontics. Academic rank, tenure eligibility, and salary commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Mission or Goal of Unit:

The primary mission of the School of Dentistry is to educate practitioners of Dentistry capable of meeting the general oral health needs of the communities they serve. Integral parts of the mission are research and other scholarly activity, patient care, leadership in dental education and organized dentistry, and collaboration and participation with other units within VCU and VCU Health System.

The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Dentistry is located in downtown Richmond, Virginia. With a 133-year history, Virginia’s only dental school offers opportunities for selected, qualified individuals to study dentistry and oral health through its Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program, graduate specialty training programs, and a dental hygiene program. The VCU School of Dentistry is one of a small number of dental schools in the country affiliated with an academic medical center, the only dental school in the Commonwealth, and one of the oldest dental schools in the United States, founded in 1893. It is one of six health sciences academic programs on the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) Campus of VCU.

Chief Purpose of this Position:

The Chair of the Department of Endodontics will examine the operations of the department as a whole and the relationship to their institution and patients. In this role, the Chair will help faculty within the department be realistic about their expectations for balancing research, teaching and patient care. The Chair will provide leadership for the educational, scholarship, patient care, and service mission of the department and the School of Dentistry. Additionally, the Chair will collaborate and participate with other units with VCU and VCU Health Systems to provide outstanding patient care and continuing education for VCU Dental students.

Position Responsibilities:

Administrative:

The Chair will provide strategic leadership to advance excellence in education, research, and patient care in alignment with the VCU School of Dentistry mission. Oversee faculty and staff recruitment, development, mentorship, and evaluation, including promotion and tenure processes. Foster a supportive and high-functioning departmental culture. Guide departmental planning and resource allocation. Implement innovative initiatives that enhance clinical services and research productivity while ensuring efficient coordination of departmental operations. Serve as a primary liaison for departmental priorities within the School and University, representing the department’s unique expertise across disciplines.

Teaching:

The Chair will provide clinical and classroom teaching and supervision in both the predoctoral and postdoctoral endodontic clinics and act as a course director. The Chair supervises and mentors residents in research related to their postdoctoral program and assists in the preparation of postdoctoral dental students for specialty board examinations. Faculty members are expected to teach in an integrated curriculum system that includes baccalaureate, graduate, and professional education. Teaching across traditional departmental lines and in multidisciplinary teams is required. Faculty members are expected to foster transformative learning that is informed by interdisciplinary and translational research, scholarship, and creative expression.

Research:

The Chair is highly encouraged to participate in research protocols and will work collaboratively with dental research programs and investigators. The Chair is expected to participate and mentor postdoctoral

students in research.

Clinical:

The Chair will provide teaching and leadership roles in dentistry clinics, seeing patients, working with students, and working collaboratively with other faculty and staff to promote best business practices, and increase clinic productivity. Participation in the Faculty Private Practice requires demonstrated ability to build a practice. Provides clinical services to affiliated agencies as per faculty compensation plan.

Service:

The Chair will serve on and represent the department on departmental, school and other university committees as necessary, and in their professional field, as well as  participate in national activities sponsored by the American Association of Endodontics and other professional organizations.

Required Qualifications:

        DDS or DMD degree

        Eligibility for a dental license in Virginia

        Certification of completion of Advanced Education in Endodontics

        Experience in dental education, resident program administration, or other leadership experience

        Must have the desire to mentor future dental practitioners

        Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

        Demonstrated ability to contribute to and participate in a humanistic environment of learning

        Demonstrated ability to incorporate adult learning theory, evidence-based oral health care, innovation in student learning, and critical thinking, or acquire and develop such ability

        For tenure eligible positions at the Assistant Professor rank, an established research agenda and a clear potential for external funding, as well as potential for scholarship or creative expression to complement and expand existing expertise in the department

        For tenure eligible positions at the Associate Professor or Professor level, a well-developed scholarly/research portfolio with evidence of multi-disciplinary applications and external funding appropriate to complement and expand existing expertise in the department

Preferred Qualifications:

        Master’s Degree or PhD

        Board certification in Endodontics

        National service in the American Association of Endodontists

        Prior experience teaching endodontics within a predoctoral curriculum (didactic and clinical)

        Private practice experience

Application Process:

Candidates must apply to this faculty position through the university’s career website at https://vcujobs.com/  (search requisition 45002042) to be considered for faculty position: F80400.

Three recent letters of reference, or contact information for at least three references, will be required for consideration.

For further information about this position contact Dr. Jennifer Wadiak, Search Committee Chair, VCU School of Dentistry at [email protected].

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, VCU enrolls nearly 31,000 students in 223 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Sixty-eight of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's thirteen schools and one college. VCU Health System and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University comprise the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more information, see www.vcu.edu 

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer.