Jersey City, N.J. – September 26, 2024 – Saint Peter’s University proudly announces the inauguration of Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D., as its 23rd president. This historic celebration will take place on Friday, October 4, 2024, marking a pivotal moment in the University’s long-standing tradition of academic excellence and leadership rooted in its Jesuit values.
The celebration will begin with a Missioning Mass at 10:00 a.m. at St. Aedan’s Church followed by the Inauguration Ceremony at 1:00 p.m. in the University’s Mac Mahon Student Center. The inauguration will be attended by esteemed faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders, as well as representatives from academic institutions across the nation.
Dr. Benitez was selected to serve as Saint Peter’s 23rd president following a national search and unanimous decision from the University’s Board of Trustees in March 2024. He officially began his tenure as the first Hispanic president of the University on July 1, 2024, succeeding Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., who served with distinction for 17 years.
“The Saint Peter’s community has already seen firsthand Dr. Benitez’s ability to spark collaboration and drive innovation in his short time at the helm,” said Kenneth Moore, CFA ’91, chair of the Saint Peter’s University Board of Trustees. “With his outstanding academic credentials, considerable experience and dynamic leadership, the Board and I are confident that Dr. Benitez will steer the University toward continued success in its next chapter.”
Dr. Benitez has dedicated the last two decades of his career in higher education as an academic, administrator and faculty member, and had previously spent 15 years as a clinician. Prior to his appointment to Saint Peter’s University, he served as president of American International College, as vice president for strategic initiatives and academic innovation as well as acting chief inclusion officer at fellow Jesuit institution Rockhurst University and as president and chief executive officer for Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences. Over his career, he has also served in other executive leadership roles, including provost and chief academic officer, dean of health sciences, department chair and assistant dean, while also holding an 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 volunteer 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 Jesuit, research-intensive institution of higher education in Latin America. Subsequently, Dr. Benitez completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center focused on education and research, and later earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Saint Louis University. In addition, Dr. Benitez completed executive training through the Institute for Educational Management (IEM) at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
“Saint Peter’s distinguished attributes—its diverse student body, its Jesuit mission, its rich history and its strong reputation—are what inspired me to embrace the opportunity to lead and be a part of this exceptional community,” said Dr. Benitez. “This was a calling to a greater good and a way of coming home. This inauguration is not only a personal milestone for me, but a pivotal moment in the history of our University. As we stand at the crossroads of tradition and transformation, I am honored to lead a University that has a rich legacy and an even brighter future.”
Saint Peter’s will also mark the celebration with a series of pre-inaugural events designed to highlight the University’s mission to prepare students to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice. A detailed schedule of events and the ability to livestream the celebration is available at: saintpeters.edu/inauguration.
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For more than 150 years, Saint Peter’s University, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment. To learn more, please visit saintpeters.edu.
Media Contact
Angeline Boyer
aboyer1@saintpeters.edu
(201) 761-6238