Dissertation Defense Announcement Ed.D. Program: Jonathan Paul Langowski “Restoring the Dental Faculty Cavity: Exploring the Hidden Stories Behind Who Stays, Who Leaves, & Why”
In the United States, over 600 unfilled dental faculty positions (ADEA, 2024) pose a significant threat to dental schools’ accreditation and the broader public’s oral health. Guided by self-determination theory and social cognitive career theory, this transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of dental faculty members to understand the motivators and deterrents influencing their decisions to enter, remain in, or leave academic roles. The study also examined how institutional policies and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts shaped those career decisions at Northeast Dental School. Prior literature has suggested that intrinsic motivators, such as intellectual stimulation, professional legacy, and student mentorship, can sustain faculty commitment when supported by strong onboarding, flexible workloads, and meaningful mentorship, while salary disparities, escalating workloads, unclear promotion pathways, and perceived inequities may undermine retention.
A blend of twelve part-time and full-time faculty members from a Northeast research-intensive dental school, representing varied ranks, disciplines, and identities, participated in the study. Data were collected through a demographic intake questionnaire and individual 60-minute semi-structured Zoom interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and returned to participants for transcript review before analysis. Data were analyzed in NVivo using the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method, including horizontalization, clustering, imaginative variation, and synthesis of structural and textural descriptions. Trustworthiness was supported through epoché, member checking, peer debriefing, audit trails, and reflexive journaling.
Analysis yielded six interrelated themes: teaching and student impact as core meaning; growth, recognition, and advancement infrastructure; mentorship and collegial support as retention anchors; financial tradeoffs shaping feasibility; work design friction, bureaucracy, and structural burnout; and DEI as belonging and equitable opportunity. Faculty commitment was strongest when meaningful teaching was reinforced by visible development pathways, mentoring, workable financial and workload conditions, and a climate of respect and transparent opportunity. Retention vulnerability increased when bureaucracy, staffing and documentation demands, and unclear or inequitable processes constrained autonomy, recognition, and belonging. These findings suggest that addressing the dental faculty shortage requires more than recruitment alone; institutions must create faculty environments in which teaching is professionally valued, advancement is visible, and support structures make academic careers sustainable and equitable.