Pimenta Selected for ADEA Leadership Institute
Luiz Pimenta, DDS, MS, PhD, MBA, professor of dental medicine at CUMC, interim director of the Division of Prosthodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic, and Rehabilitation Sciences, and director of Dental/Biomaterials, has been named a 2025–26 ADEA Leadership Institute Fellow. The ADEA Leadership Institute is a yearlong program designed to develop the most promising individuals at academic dental institutions to become leaders in dental and higher education.
Over the course of the year, Dr. Pimenta will participate in an orientation and four workshops. The first meeting will focus on leadership competencies; the second, which will take place in Washington, D.C., focuses on public policy; the third meeting will assist the Fellows in developing the administrative competencies necessary to lead; the fourth workshop, which takes place at the annual ADEA conference, focuses on integrating newly acquired perspectives and competencies into a comprehensive administrative strategy.
“This is a program that helps leaders in dental education to learn more about dental education,” Pimenta says. “It provides a better understanding about administrative challenges facing dental schools and prepares you to be a better leader.”
Dr. Pimenta, who has spent 38 years in academia, says that the Leadership Institute is an opportunity to develop the skills that are required to be an effective leader including mentoring faculty, optimizing limited resources, and creating effective curricula.
“I’m excited about what I hope to learn from this experience,” Pimenta says. “And to be able to bring back to CDM new ideas and new opportunities.”
Dr. James Fine, senior associate dean for Postdoctoral Academic and Student Affairs, and an alumnus of the Leadership Institute, says that the experience not only makes participants better administrators but also infuses the College with new perspectives. “It’s fantastic that Dr. Pimenta will be following in the footsteps of so many of CDM’s leadership. Both the school and Dr. Pimenta will benefit from the expience.”
In addition to Dr. Fine, Dr. Pimenta joins several CDM faculty members who are alumni of the Leadership Institute including Dr. Laureen Zubiaurre, Dr. Gregory Bunza, and Dr. Roseanna Graham, all of whom hold or have held leadership roles both at the College and in national professional associations.