Mark R. Patters, D.D.S., Ph.D. Interim Dean College of Dentistry mpatters@utmem.edu
It is a great honor to be the 15th Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry. Having assumed the position of Dean in August, 2007, I am very grateful to everyone who supported me and I pledge that I will do my best to continue the legacy of excellence of my predecessors. It is my intention to continue the outstanding programs already in progress in the College of Dentistry.
We have so much to be proud of! Just to highlight a few of the accomplishments of the UTHSC College of Dentistry:
Our college is fully accredited and the last two site visits were completed with no recommendations for improvement and several commendations.
The pre-clinical teaching laboratories have been completely renovated with addition of state-of-the-art equipment including forty virtual reality patient simulators – the only such laboratory in the world today.
The University of Tennessee is the third highest ranked dental school in the nation in the number of African-American students in their program.
Our students have performed above the national average on Part I of the National Dental Boards for the past five years and have consistently ranked in the top ten dental schools in Part II National Board Scores with the highest rank being number one.
The American Student Dental Association is ranked among the top in the nation being number one two years ago. The Student National Dental Association has been ranked the Best Chapter of the Year Award for the fourth year in a row (2000-2004) and Best Scrapbook for the second year in a row (2002-2003). Our Student Research Program is “A model training program” according to NIH that has extended a five-year grant to fund the program.
However, with all of the accomplishments to date, I do have several ideas for improvement. One of my priorities is to concentrate on improving communication and relationships between our faculty, staff and students. The college’s main objective for existence is to educate and graduate competent dentists. This initiative will begin with the orientation process to assure all students that they will be treated as professionals upon acceptance into the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry.
In these trying financial times, colleges of dentistry across the nation are experiencing budget reductions. The UTHSC College of Dentistry is no exception and another priority will be to pursue ways to increase revenue through alternative sources to augment state appropriations. For example, our dental clinic will be examined in an effort to streamline oral health care delivery thus insuring increased production in a minimum amount of time.
Faculty recruitment and retention are also a national problem for dental colleges. While we have made great strides in recruiting highly qualified faculty, and have increased faculty salaries, there is room for improvement. A bonus system will be explored to increase the overall compensation package for our faculty.
I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to continue the rich heritage of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry.
