Career Center

Chair, Department of Pediatric Dentistry

Virginia Commonwealth University

School of Dentistry

The Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond Virginia, invites candidates to apply for the Pediatric Dentistry Chair faculty position. This position involves examining the operations of the department as a whole and the relationship to the institution and patients. In this role, the incumbent will help departmental faculty with 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 incumbent will collaborate and participate with other units at VCU, VCU Health System (VCUHS) and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHoR) to provide outstanding patient care and continuing education for VCU Dental students. The Chair will serve on the Board of VCU Dental Care (Dentistry@VCU), the LLC providing services to the School of Dentistry, and overseeing the operations of the clinical staff for VCU Dental Care.

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 132-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.

Position Responsibilities:

Administrative:

The chair will provide leadership and management of the department’s faculty and staff to include annual review and evaluation, mentoring for development and promotion, and/or tenure review. The chair is also responsible for the departmental academic and clinical financial affairs, for ensuring compliance with school, university, and state policy and regulations. The chair is responsible for interfacing with the VCU Health System, the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU to support the teaching and clinical services mission of the department and school.

Teaching:

Teaching duties shall include medical students, dental students, graduate students, allied health students, residents, fellows, and colleagues, where appropriate. Teaching responsibilities also shall be considered to include preparation of instructional materials, evaluative materials, testing, and maintenance of personal professional skills through continuing education, advising and mentoring trainees, and participation in academic reinforcement programs.

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. Faculty members must demonstrate the ability to contribute to and participate in a humanistic environment of learning, as well as to adapt to change and embrace modern technologies. Faculty members must demonstrate the ability, or acquire and develop such ability, to incorporate adult learning theory, evidence-based oral health care, innovation in student learning, and critical thinking.

Clinical:

The chair is expected to provide clinical service and to maintain a practice in pediatric dentistry, with the expectation to integrate students and/or residents into this service as appropriate. It is expected that the chair will acquire hospital privileges to serve both teaching and patient care roles within the health system.

Research:

Research and scholarship are an expectation for all members of the School of Dentistry faculty as appropriate for their overall responsibilities and expertise. The Chair of Pediatric Dentistry is expected to support and participate in research and scholarship of students, residents, and faculty, and to have a personal research focus appropriate for the rank of associate professor or full professor.

Service:

The chair will be expected to represent the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, the School of Dentistry, and Virginia Commonwealth University by serving on committees and task forces as requested. Participation in state and national-level professional organizations, as appropriate for the position and the candidate’s expertise, is required. Participation and/or support of the department’s participation in dentistry-related community service activities is required.

Required Qualifications:

• Dental degree (DDS/DMD or equivalent)
• Certificate in Advanced Education in Pediatric Dentistry from a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation
• Previous experience in an academic or hospital environment
• Eligible for licensure as a dentist in Virginia
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to change and embrace modern technology
• 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 is required
• For tenure eligible positions at the Associate Professor or Professor rank, 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 is required

Preferred Qualifications:

• An advanced degree (MS, MSD or PhD)
• Certification by the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry
• Education and or experience in one or more of the following areas of pediatric dentistry are preferred:
• Cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial defects
• Specials needs children
• Interceptive orthodontics
• Sedation and/or anesthesia
• Hospital dentistry
• Private dental practice
• Public health dentistry
• Community base-clinical service
• School based-programs

Employees working in or with VCUHealth in any capacity will be required to comply with all relevant health system policies and procedures, including the health system's vaccination requirements.

Application Process:

Candidates must apply to this faculty position through the university’s career website at www.vcujobs.com (search req 45001268) to be considered for this faculty position: F51820.

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

https://vcujobs.com/jobs/chair-pediatric-dentistry-school-of-dentistry-mcv-main-campus-virginia-united-states

For further information about this position, contact Dr. Carlos Smith, Search Committee Chair, VCU School of Dentistry at cssmith2@vcu.edu

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer.

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