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92_HR0334
LRB9208901RHrhB
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, With the closing of Northwestern Illinois Dental
3 School, Illinois public universities have the sole
4 responsibility of educating the future dentists in Illinois;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Dental education plays an important role in
7 developing this quality work force; and
8 WHEREAS, Dental education has as one of its
9 responsibilities to graduate a competent oral health work
10 force, and in order to meet that responsibility, it requires
11 a faculty that is sufficient in numbers and properly trained
12 to fulfill the program's mission of teaching, research, and
13 service; and
14 WHEREAS, A physical plant is needed that will support an
15 appropriate number of faculty, staff, and students and must
16 include the latest technology in order to provide a proper
17 environment to educate its students and provide quality
18 services to its patients; and
19 WHEREAS, Dental education is experiencing an increase in
20 the number of unfilled, funded clinical faculty positions; to
21 date, the Southern Illinois University School of Dentistry
22 has six funded clinical faculty vacancies and the University
23 of Illinois at Chicago currently has thirteen clinical
24 faculty vacancies; and
25 WHEREAS, Current data indicates that there are presently
26 more than 350 unfilled positions throughout the country; a
27 leading factor is the significant disparity between the
28 income levels of the practicing dentist and the faculty of
29 the dental schools that exist; in order for the State of
30 Illinois to successfully compete for the limited number of
31 persons seeking faculty positions, it is imperative that the
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1 State dental programs close this financial gap to recruit and
2 retain faculty; and
3 WHEREAS, Technology for delivering quality oral health
4 care continues to change; dental education must be on the
5 cutting edge in the use of technology in order to prepare
6 competent graduates and deliver quality care to all the
7 patients it serves; additionally, the physical resources must
8 be constantly updated to match changes in the delivery of the
9 curriculum; resources need to be identified to ensure an
10 appropriate level of funding for the equipment replacement
11 and facility renovations; and
12 WHEREAS, Both Southern Illinois University and the
13 University of Illinois share a system of high quality
14 standards; Southern Illinois University ranks in the top
15 twenty percent of all dental schools, ranking as high as
16 number two in the nation; the University of Illinois also has
17 an excellent performance record with a pass rate on national
18 tests averaging above ninety percent and at one hundred
19 percent on one occasion; therefore, be it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22 we request the Illinois Board of Higher Education with the
23 consultation of Patrick J. Ferrillo, dean of the School of
24 Dentistry at Southern Illinois University, and Bruce S.
25 Graham, dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of
26 Illinois at Chicago, to embark on a study that will address
27 the issues facing dental education in the State of Illinois;
28 this study shall include without limitation the following
29 areas:
30 1. Recruitment and retention of qualified faculty for all
31 State oral health care programs;
32 2. Current technology required for both the physical and
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1 equipment needs for all State programs;
2 3. Retention of Southern Illinois University and
3 University of Illinois at Chicago graduates in the State of
4 Illinois; and
5 4. The role research should play in the mission of
6 Illinois dental schools; and be it further
7 RESOLVED, That the Board on Higher Education shall submit
8 its report on the study to the General Assembly on or before
9 October 1, 2001; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
11 presented to the Governor of the State of Illinois, the Board
12 of Higher Education, to the Higher Education Committee
13 members of the General Assembly, to the President of Southern
14 Illinois University, and to the President of the University
15 of Illinois.