Dental school vacant budgeted faculty positions: academic year 2004-05

The number of vacant budgeted faculty positions in dental schools has continued to decline, dropping from 296 in 2003-04 to 275 in 2004-05. The number of lost positions declined to twenty-five, from 147 lost positions reported in 2003-04. While the average number of vacancies per dental school was just under five, three-quarters of these vacancies were considered usual and normal to the operation of the dental school. Based on ADEA's annual survey of dental educators, there was approximately a 9 percent faculty turnover between 2003-04 and 2004-05, and according to the 2003-04 and 2004-05 surveys of vacant faculty positions, it is taking longer to fill vacant positions. The greatest challenges influencing the ability of a school to fill a vacancy were salary/budget limitations and lack of response to a position announcement. Still, between 2003-04 and 2004-05, the number of dental school faculty increased from 11,348 to 11,715, including 4,736 full-time, 5,097 part-time, and 1,791 volunteer faculty members. Employment status was not reported for ninety-one individuals. Private practice remains the primary reason for faculty separations and the source of new faculty. In addition, nearly one in four new faculty members entered dental education directly following graduation from a dental or postdoctoral education program. While it may take longer to fill positions and it has become more difficult to fill some vacancies, overall, dental school deans indicated that the number of vacancies was not affecting the quality of dental education. However, between anticipated faculty retirements and current levels of faculty turnover, continued support for and development of faculty recruitment and retention programs remains essential to maintaining a quality dental education workforce.