MISSION

The Dental School Mission is the acquisition, dissemination and use of knowledge toward the enhancement of oral health. This mission is addressed through six interrelated action components: education, research, patient care, community, faculty and staff, and infrastructure.

GOALS

1. Education
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Maintain our role as the principal source of dental health professional education in South Texas.
b. Attract from the applicant pool, the best qualified applicants for admission into our undergraduate and graduate programs.
c. Graduate competent dentists who demonstrate that level of special skill, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, ethical practices, and experiences necessary to make the transition from faculty supervision to the unsupervised practice of general dentistry.
d. Maintain and monitor a curriculum that is contemporary, relevant, and efficient, competency and scientifically based, which will foster ethical behavior, problem solving skill, critical thinking, and the concept of life long learning.
e. Provide advanced and continuing education programs that are responsive to current and future needs of the profession.

2. Research
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Contribute to the broad body of basic and applied knowledge related to oral health including emphasis on the needs of South Texas, and disseminate that new knowledge.
b. Provide opportunities for students and faculty to develop the skills necessary for independent scholarship.
c. Develop a national and international leadership role in oral health related research.

3. Patient Care
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Provide quality, patient centered care to patients whose treatment needs are compatible with the educational programs of the Dental School.
b. Serve as a professional resource for practitioners and a source of referral for patients with complex conditions and treatment needs.

4. Community
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Provide leadership to the community in fostering public awareness of the behavioral, economic and social impact of oral disease.
b. Foster a spirit of cooperative academic citizenship within the Dental School, the Health Science Center, and the health care community.

5. Faculty/Staff
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Attract and maintain a highly qualified faculty and staff.
b. Provide professional growth opportunities to promote faculty and staff quality and prepare them to meet the changing needs of the institution and the profession.
c. Promote integration of dental education, research, and patient care with other components of the Health Science Center.

6. University Infrastructure
THE DENTAL SCHOOL WILL:
a. Provide the physical, financial, administrative, and communications technology resources necessary to support the teaching, research, and patient care activities of its faculty, students, and staff.