Dean, Fones School of Dental Hygiene
Email: marcia@bridgeport.edu
Phone: 203-576-4139
Office: HSC, Room 411
Degrees
Ed.D., University of Bridgeport
MSEd, University of Bridgeport
BS, Fones School of Dental Hygiene, University of Bridgeport
ASDH, Fones School of Dental Hygiene, University of Bridgeport
Biography
Dr. Lorentzen is Dean at the Fones School and began her teaching career as a part-time clinical instructor and dental materials laboratory instructor shortly after graduation from the University in 1975. She continued her career exploration in private practice locations in Connecticut and returned to Fones School in 1995 as the Community Rotation Coordinator. Marcia has been a full-time faculty member since 2000 and currently teaches Periodontology to second year students, oversees the outreach 2nd year clinical rotation at Norwalk Hospital, and facilitates the Master’s level course in Clinical and Didactic Educational Concepts. Her academic achievement brought her election into Gamma Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha, the dental hygiene honor society, and her selection as a Dana Scholar in 1975. She is also a member of the all academic discipline Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and in April 2011, earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership after successfully defending her dissertation Constructing a Dental Hygiene Education: A Survey of Educational Methods.
Marcia has served the University of Bridgeport in numerous capacities, including as University Senate Secretary and as a member of the Faculty Handbook Committee, the Academic Technology Steering Committee, the Safety Committee, and as a Building Manager. Ms. Lorentzen currently serves on committees in Fones School that include the Academic Standards Committee, Admissions Committee, Clinical Affairs Committee, and Curriculum Management Committee. She is a presenter for the Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene National Board Review and for UB’s School of Education Assessment Committee on linking standards, competencies, and student performance.
Marcia’s professional affiliations include the American Academy of Dental Hygiene, American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association, and local component association, to which she has belonged since graduation from the University. She has been active in numerous positions on all levels of the Association representing the interests of dental hygienists, serving as President of CDHA 1994-1995, and leading the Connecticut delegation to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. As an educator, she is the Connecticut State Education Network Liaison for ADHA, and recently completed a multi-year term as a Dental Hygiene Curriculum Consultant with the Commission on Dental Accreditation.