Position Overview
As Wisconsin’s only dental school, Marquette University School of Dentistry is answering the call to meet future workforce needs, increase access to oral health for underserved patients, and advance dental health education in Wisconsin. The key elements to our success are expanding clinical space, promoting technology, expanding student capacity, and retaining and recruiting quality faculty. Marquette is well known for its innovative curriculum. The school is serving the community on its main campus and community-based clinics in Milwaukee and through outreach clinics across the state of Wisconsin.
The behavioral sciences curriculum at Marquette is an integral part of predoctoral dental curriculum and is taught in an interdisciplinary fashion across the curriculum in conjunction with the basic and clinical sciences. The successful candidate will be responsible for the oversight of the behavioral sciences curriculum including developing, teaching, and managing the delivery of this curriculum. The ideal candidate will assure that the educational experiences provided students are responsive to their needs and consistent with ADA accreditation guidelines.
Duties and Responsibilities
Responsibilities include using active, student-centered learning approaches to teach communication skills, health psychology, and other psychosocial aspects of dentistry to pre-doctoral dental students in small group, lecture, and chairside settings. Expertise in the areas of behavioral dentistry/medicine, cultural influences on health care, developmental psychology, health behavior change, pain/anxiety management, and health communication are essential. Being able to teach clinical bioethics and professionalism is desirable.
The successful candidate will provide leadership and oversight for the behavioral sciences curriculum and be responsible for evaluating educational methods and curricular design to improve instruction and achieve desired educational outcomes. Designing and implementing authentic and reliable assessment methods for assessing dental behavioral competencies is required.
The successful candidate must work collaboratively with the clinic faculty and staff and other members of the interdisciplinary behavioral sciences department to achieve joint educational goals. Effective collaboration with part time faculty members in coordinating teaching is also needed.
As time permits, the ideal candidate will have the opportunity to develop a research program or engage in scholarship in an area related to dental behavioral sciences. These experiences are meant to enhance teaching and allow the candidate to bring their scholarship and/or evidence-based practice to the classroom.
The candidate shall serve on faculty committees as assigned and attend/organize meetings necessary for the optimal functioning of the behavioral sciences faculty at the school of dentistry.
The Dean or Department chairperson may assign other duties and responsibilities consistent with the role of behavioral scientist for the school.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Earned doctorate or a terminal degree. Demonstrated potential for teaching excellence and high quality research.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Required – The ideal candidate should have a Ph.D. in psychology, health psychology, communication, or related field. Good communication skills, the ability to work collaboratively, good time management skills and a commitment to high standards of professional behavior are required. Teaching experience is required as well as evidence of effectiveness in teaching adult students. Evidence of the ability to independently develop an area of research/scholarship related to dentistry is required.
Preferred – Interest or experience in teaching clinical bioethics is desirable.
Rank and salary commensurate with training and experience. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Position start date is flexible.
