Supreme Chapter         Volume XLII         October 2007

     The "OKU-Charles Craig Teaching Award" recognizes young dental educators who have demonstrated new and innovative teaching techniques in the art, science and literature of dentistry.   The award was created to encourage and honor individuals who have implemented innovative teaching techniques into dental education.

    This year's recipient of the "OKU-Charles Craig Teaching Award" is Dr. Benita Sobieraj, from Lambda Lambda Chapter at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Dr. Sobieraj received a dental degree from Jagiellonian University in Poland and in 1997 received a Doctor of Dental Surgery from SUNY at Buffalo in 1997 as a student in Buffalo's International Dental Student Program.  Dr. Sobieraj also completed an Advanced Education Program in General  Dentistry in 1998 at SUNY at Buffalo.

    As the pre-doctoral course director in occlusion she has taken full advantage of the DVD curriculum at Buffalo by integrating her own course website completely with it.  This enables the students to have access to all elements of course content, including slides and other learning materials, at any time, facilitating review and integration of the information.  Serving as a champion for this approach, Dr. Sobieraj has inspired other faculty to take full advantage of a combination of technical innovations that have definitely enhanced learning a Buffalo.

    Dr. Sobieraj has also assumed a position of leadership in the clinical patient care and education program at Buffalo by serving as a Tier Leader.  Tier Leaders are responsible for the management of a clinical learning group, which includes a total of approximately forty (40) fourth year students and the staff, and the interdisciplinary faculty who collaborate in providing their education.

    Omicron Kappa Upsilon congratulates Dr. Benita Sobieraj upon being the 2007 recipient of the "Charles Craig Teaching Award".