Does the dental school work environment promote successful academic careers?

A consistent theme in the national dialogue about future directions for the educational arm of dentistry is how best to cultivate a school environment that will be seen as attractive by members of the dental community who desire to serve their profession as teachers and scholars. As a first step toward stimulating broad-based reflection on the working environment within dental schools, the ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation (CCI) conducted a symposium titled "Change, Innovation, and the Quality of Faculty Work-Life" at the 2007 ADEA Annual Session in New Orleans. Aspects of this article are based on the content of this symposium, which explored research on the perceptions and concerns of dental faculty regarding the current academic workplace and provided perspectives of university faculty about university life and career growth. This article reviews the findings from two interview-based qualitative assessments of faculty perceptions of work-life in dental schools and other schools of higher education, presents a preliminary summary of the first national survey of dental school faculty regarding their impressions of the academic work environment, and makes recommendations for enhancing the dental school work environment with an emphasis on those factors that influence career growth. Results from these three studies illustrate faculty perceptions about the promotion and tenure and performance evaluation processes; workload and quality of work-life; and quality of institutional support.