Hiring practices in dental education: comparison of top-and lower-ranked schools

The ten top-ranked dental schools, as indicated in The Gourman Report, had hired significantly more faculty members from among their own graduates (Mdn=42.5%) than had ten randomly selected lower-ranked dental schools (Mdn=19.6%). However, the proportions of faculty members hired by the ten top-ranked dental schools from graduates of the top-ranked schools other than their own (Mdn=15.9%) were nearly identical to the proportions of faculty members hired by the lower-ranked schools from graduates of the ten top-ranked schools (Mdn=17.2%). Both top-ranked and lower-ranked schools showed wide variations in their tendencies to hire faculty from top-ranked schools. Some variables that might account for these variations in hiring practices are noted.