Dr. Hubert Benitez - National Director, Dental Sciences
Name:
Dr. Hubert Benitez
Title/Position:
National Director, Dental Sciences
Educational Background:
1980-1985: DDS; University Javeriana (1985)
2003-2005: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dental Education and Dental Research; University of Connecticut, School of Dental Medicine
2007-Current: PhD; Higher Education Administration and Educational Leadership; Saint Louis University, College of Education
Work Experience:
Dr. Hubert Benitez, DDS, is the National Director for Dental Sciences for Career Education Corporation and Program Director for Dental Hygiene at Missouri College. He obtained his dental degree in 1985, and after 20+ years of clinical practice, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dental Education and Research at the University of Connecticut (UConn), School of Dental Medicine (2005). He is finalizing a PhD program in Higher Education and Educational Leadership at Saint Louis University (2010). Prior to his appointment at CEC and Missouri College, he served as Director Dental Practice Management and Director Continuing Dental Education at the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Dentistry. At UConn, he served as Assistant Dean and Associate Director for Health Career Opportunity Programs for the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine. As National Director for Dental Hygiene at CEC and Missouri College, he was charged with conceptualizing, preparing and submitting the first application for a DH Program at CEC, which received initial accreditation in 2008. In addition, he has overseen the preparation and application of four additional applications for DH programs for CEC campuses.
Scholarship and Recognitions:
His academic and research experience includes being the principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center of Excellence grant funded project, and co-principal investigator and co-director for a number of NIH, State and industry funded grants aimed at developing and implementing educational, research and mentoring programs for dental and healthcare predoctoral and postdoctoral students at four academic institutions. He currently is a co-investigator of a multidisciplinary grant titled “An Interprofessional Perspective of Community-Based Service Learning: Outcome Assessment of the Externship by Various Stakeholders”, designed to identify critical key elements in an externship assessment tool, to evaluate the effectiveness of the experience for dental and dental hygiene students
He is involved in a number of national and international institutions, and continues to serve of on advisory committees for professional organizations. In addition to his years of clinical practice, he has been invited to conference presentations (15) in ten distinct US dental schools. Recently, he received Recognition into America’s Top Dentists by the Research Council of America (2010); received an Excellence in Teaching Award, by the University of Manitoba Faculty of Dentistry: (2009); received Induction into the Golden Key International Honour Society by Saint Louis University (2008), and was appointed as Chair for the Public Health and Community Dentistry Board, of the Indian Dentist Research and Review peer reviewed Journal (2010).
He is a current member of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA); American Dental Association (ADA); Missouri Dental Association; Greater Saint Louis Dental Society; Canadian Dental Association; Manitoba Dental Association; and Hispanic Dental Association, being part of their Governance Committee.