Job DescriptionThe University of Tennessee Health Science Center Department of Bioscience Sciences seeks a full-time tenure-track Open Rank Professor and Chair of Biomedical Sciences. This position provides strategic, academic, and administrative leadership for the department within the UT Health Science Center College of Dentistry. The Chair is responsible for advancing excellence in biomedical science education, research, scholarship, and service, while fostering a collaborative culture that supports faculty development and student success. A central priority of this position is to lead the transformation of biomedical sciences education from a traditional discipline-based approach to a systems-based, integrated model, and to ensure meaningful, longitudinal integration of biomedical sciences throughout the dental curriculum.
Responsibilities- Lead the transition to a systems-based and integrated biomedical sciences curriculum, including planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous refinement.
- Drive the integration of biomedical sciences into the dental curriculum, ensuring foundational science concepts are reinforced in preclinical and clinical contexts.
- Collaborate with the Associate/Assistant Deans, curriculum committee(s), course directors, and clinical departments to align learning outcomes, assessments, and competencies.
- Promote evidence-based teaching practices (e.g., active learning, team-based learning, case-based integration, simulation-enhanced instruction).
- Ensure curriculum aligns with accreditation expectations, institutional outcomes, and best practices in health professions education.
- Support assessment strategies that measure knowledge integration, clinical reasoning, and readiness for clinical training.
- Provide leadership to enhance the department's research profile, productivity, and external funding.
- Support a balanced portfolio of basic, translational, clinical, and educational research as appropriate to departmental strengths.
- Serve as a key academic leader and spokesperson for the department within the College of Dentistry and across UT Health Science Center.
- Build strong partnerships with clinical departments to ensure biomedical science integration supports clinical competency development.
QualificationsEDUCATION: PhD, DDS/DMD, MD or equivalent degree.
EXPERIENCE: Teaching in biomedical sciences and evidence of educational excellence. Demonstrated record of academic leadership with progressive responsibility.
DEPARTMENTAL PREFERENCES: - Experience leading or substantially contributing to systems-based and/or integrated curriculum design and implementation in a dental school.
- Track record of funded research and/or leadership in building a productive research enterprise.
- Experience integrating foundational sciences into clinical education.
- Familiarity with the dental accreditation processes and outcomes assessment in dental education.
