On April 11, 2022, Hubert Benitez, DDS, PhD, took office as the twelfth president of American International College (AIC), a private, coeducational, four-year comprehensive institution located in the geographic center of Springfield, Massachusetts. AIC offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs to a diverse student population, with a mission of providing access to a holistic education in an inclusive environment that propels a diverse community of learners to personal growth and professional success. As a student-centered institution, AIC is committed to nurturing an awareness of intrinsic worth, a concern for other individuals, and the needs and perspectives of first-generation and multicultural college students.

As president, Dr. Benitez serves as the chief executive officer of the College and is responsible for the overall administration of the institution, including formulating and recommending policies, programs, and plans for its educational, financial, and physical development, while guiding the College’s vision.

Reflecting the mission of the institution, Dr. Benitez is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion and is committed to changing livesthrough education. He is passionately committed to access and opportunity, social justice, and working with first-generation and diverse student bodies. In response to this commitment, Dr. Benitez hasled the creation of the bridge programs designed to increase access to education and promote the diversity of students pursuing careers in STEM fields.

While Dr. Benitez has dedicated the last two decades to higher education as an academic, administrator, and faculty member, he additionally spent fifteen years as a clinician. Prior to his appointment as president of AIC, Dr. Benitez served as vice president for Strategic Initiatives and Academic Innovation, and as acting chief inclusion officer at Rockhurst University; as president and chief executive officer for Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences; and has served in other executive leadership roles, including provost and chief academic officer, dean of Health Sciences, department chair, assistant dean, and has held academic rank at the associate professor level.

Dr. Benitez has significant experience in academic administration and leadership, strategic planning, academic program development, health sciences education, and with institutional and programmatic accreditation. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and has assisted academic institutions in the design and implementation of academic assessment and evaluation as well as with accreditation-related matters.

A native of Colombia, Dr. Benitez received his first doctoral degree in dentistry from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, a research-intensive institution of higher education in Latin America. Subsequently, Dr. Benitez completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center focused on education and research, and later earned a PhD in higher education administration from Saint Louis University, College of Education and Public Service. Dr. Benitez is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

Dr. Benitez has been a guest lecturer in the US and abroad and has been the recipient of several federally and privately funded research grants. His commitment has been recognized by numerous organizations, including Univision-Kansas City for his ongoing support for Hispanic heritage and by Universidad Piloto of Colombia for forging international and interdisciplinary exchange programs. He has been a recipient of the Hispanic Heritage Award and received special recognition for service to the community through Excellence in Education. His contributions to Suffolk County from the Office of Minority Affairs have been praised in addition to being selected as one of the Top 25 Advocates for Latino Empowerment in Long Island, New York.

Dr. Benitez is married to his wife Sandra, an architect. They have two adult children, Ana Ximena and Daniel.