A Vision for the Future of the

University of Michigan
School of Dentistry

Peter Polverini
Dean

March 24, 2008

 Strategic Assessment: charge
to committees
• …to provide guidance to the Provost and
President on how to build…

the strongest possible Dental School

to foster excellence and shed light
on future paths for the School
 External Advisory Team
• Barbara Gerbert, Ph.D.
 Professor of Health Psychology, Department of
Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences University
of California San Francisco
 Committee Chair
• Howard Bailit, D.M.D., Ph.D.
 Professor Emeritus and Director, Health Policy &
Primary Care Research at the University of Connecticut
Health System
• Eli Capilouto D.M.D., Sc.D., Ph.D.
 Professor of Health Care Organization and Policy,
Provost, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Bjorn R. Olsen M.D., Ph.D.
 Professor of Cell Biology , Harvard Medical School and
Dean of Research, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
 Internal Advisory Team
• David C. Martin, Ph.D
 Professor of Materials Science and Engineering,
Macromolecular Science and Engineering, and
Biomedical Engineering
 Committee Chair
• Abby Stewart, Ph.D.
 Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies,
College of Literature, Science and the Arts
• Paula Lantz, Ph.D.
 Professor and Chair, Health Management and Policy,
School of Public Health
• Joseph Fantone, M.D.
 Professor of Pathology and Associate Dean
Medical School
Strategic areas of attention
by advisory teams
• External advisory team
 Models of predoctoral dental education
 Growth opportunities in postgraduate dental education
 Research strengths and opportunities
 Financing of dental education and faculty compensation
• Internal advisory team
 Competitive position nationally and within the university
 Relationship with undergraduate educational programs
 Linkages with other school and colleges
 Women and minority faculty recruitment
 External advisory team
recommendations

• Expand postgraduate dental education.

• Expand D.D.S., Ph.D. training with emphasis on developing

the next generation of academic leadership.

• Develop business plans to assess the feasibility of

alternative educational models.

• Increase predoctoral experiences in community clinics and

private practices providing care to underserved patients.

• Rebuild and reorganize clinical facilities to accommodate

more flexible models of predoctoral education.
 External advisory team
recommendations
continued…
• Deepen strengths of existing areas of research excellence.

• Expand scientific collaborations and scholarship opportunities with

other units at the University of Michigan.

• Develop a sustainable partnership with the U of M Hospital and

Health System.

• Sustain our highly competitive educational and research enterprise

by improving and/or replacing outdated and inadequate research
and clinical space.

• Develop new compensation and professional development plans for

faculty and staff to advance priorities, encourage efficiencies, and
effectively address market forces.
 Internal advisory team
recommendations
• Expand patient care opportunities for
faculty and students by providing more
care at remote sites.

• Enhance patient care and education

programs through closer integration with
other health science schools.

• Increase interaction with other schools,

colleges and programs at the University of
Michigan.
 Where are we making
headway…
• Recasting predoctoral (clinical) education
 A more flexible model right from the start of the program
 A patient-centered practice
 Create a focus on managing the health of the patient
 Integrally link the clinical program to the research mission
 Teams of students are managed by groups of faculty members between the clinics and the lab
during D1 – D4 and DH2 – DH4 years
• Re-evaluating faculty appointment structure
 80% full-time faculty appointment
• Implementing electronic patient record and expanding digital
capabilities
 IT infrastructure will be entirely rebuilt
 Hardware currently being installed in the predoctoral clinics
• Partnering with UM Health System
 Outpatient dental services at UMHS campuses at Briarwood & Brighton
• Exploring integrated health sciences education
 Health Sciences Education Building
 Health Sciences learning communities
What needs to get done…
 To engage our predoctoral
educational program more fully
and invest deeply in its quality
and success…
• We will:
 Use the most up-to-date evidence based on outcomes
from research on learning and teaching to advance our
educational programs.

 Develop, test and implement new models of dental

education and oral health care.

 Establish a fully integrated relationship with other

academic units in the University of Michigan.

 Support our DDS students in accessing substantive

research opportunities.
 To develop the premier, patient-
centered clinical education
program…
• We will:
 Make decisions on clinical education that support
and advance patient-centered oral health care that
addresses the needs of underserved patients.

 Develop our predoctoral educational program to

enable all oral health care professional students to
become fully integrated into collaborative health
care teams.

 Employ state-of-the-art technology to enhance the

quality and efficiency of our patient care programs.
 To expand our collaborative research
and discovery mission, both within
the SOD, across the campus, and
nationally and internationally…
• We will:
 Organize and support our research in thematic
groups.

 Make research resource and space decisions

that acknowledge and support thematic
research groups.

 Insure that faculty recruitment decisions

incorporate thematic research group needs.
 To deepen our School’s commitment
to live and thrive in a multicultural
community…
• We will:
 Foster a culture where everyone is valued-students,
faculty, staff and patients and supported for their
contribution to the school.

 Develop a sustainable plan, and devote resources to

programs that prepare students from underserved
and educationally, socially, and economically
disadvantaged backgrounds to enter and succeed in
the oral health care professions.
 To implement new models for
enriched and highly relevant
collaborations with the University…
• We will:
 Make decisions about faculty development that
capitalize on the strengths and needs of individual
faculty as well as the needs and priorities of the
School.

 Support and enable all faculty members in their

scholarly pursuits.

 Foster the development of interdisciplinary learning

communities that prepare our faculty and students to
more fully participate in research and discovery at the
University of Michigan.
FQHC

Specific programs

Community dental

Indian Health Service

Private practice

Mobile

xxx
International Experiences
New Opportunities
 Sustainable Pipeline Program
for health professionals
• Prepare minority and disadvantaged high school
students for a career in dentistry.

• Engage local and regional high schools and

colleges.

• Develop new programs to guide prospective

students in the high school to college to
professional school transition.

• Develop new strategies to encourage students

to engage in exploration of issues and careers
in health and health care.
Opportunities for clinical faculty
to participate in interdisciplinary
research and teaching
• Faculty Scholars Program in Integrative
Medicine.

• Medical Education Scholars Program.

• MICHR/CTSA Pilot Grant Program.

 35K Pilot Grant
 75K Collaborative Type I (bench to bedside)
 75K Collaborative Type II (bedside to practice)
 100K Clinical Trial Planning Grant
 **NEW** 5K Seed Grant (applications
accepted on a continuous basis)
 Thematic Research Groups

Contribute
Significant Research Facilitate
Outcomes Developmental Cross-disciplinary research
Nationally & internationally Craniofacial Biology

Oral Health Oral Sensory

Disparities Systems & CNS
Circuits
Basic
Translational
Clinical

Tissue Engineering
Oral & Pharyngeal
&
Cancer
Regeneration

Enhance Device/Product Increase Competitiveness for

Commercialization Large Program Awards
 Predoctoral
Education Tracks

Asynchronous Curriculum
Private Practice Communities

Academic Interdisciplinary Healthcare Practice

Practice-based
Networks

Extended Research Scholars Program in Oral Healthcare

Dental Leadership Practice
Experience

Clinical Research Oral Health Sciences Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Private Practice Community & Global
M.S. Ph.D. Healthcare Education Ph.D. Communities Oral Health Care

Healthcare Policy
School of
Intramural Extramural Public Health
Management

Local & Regional

Healthcare Law Community Clinics
Health Sciences Specialty Practice
Learning Communities Health Sciences Experiences International
Clinical
Education
Experiences
 Who We Are
& What We Do…
Thank you & join me in
reshaping our future