Dental Hygiene Teacher of the Year

Maureen Brown, clinical assistant professor in the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene, remembers how her own teachers inspired her, which she now applies in her own classroom. Being named Dental Hygiene Teacher of the Year only underscores how she has achieved what she set out to do: touch the hearts and minds of students.

“I never gave up on my dreams because I had teachers that believed in me. I am overjoyed that I can be that same person for my students,” she says.

A faculty member since 2010, Brown is known for her nurturing teaching style, guiding and gently pushing students to find answers while compassionately building their self-confidence simultaneously.

“It has been said that no other single profession contributes more to the future than teaching.  I am proud to be recognized as a teacher that gives our dental hygiene profession hope for better clinicians, researchers, educators, or whatever my students choose to be,” she says.

In 2019, she became a co-mentor of research for senior dental hygiene students. Her mentee groups have received numerous local and regional awards. Under her guidance, two student groups’ research was published in peer-reviewed dental hygiene journals earlier this year. She also was instrumental in helping with the Dental Hygiene Excellence Program.

Brown, who is also course director of Theory of Dental Hygiene Practice II, has 17 years of experience as a registered dental hygienist in general dentistry.

Last year, Brown was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award, College Level, Texas A&M Association of Former Students. She is a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Texas Dental Hygienists’ Association and Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Brown received her associate degree from Eastfield College, a bachelor’s in dental hygiene from Texas A&M University Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry, and a master’s in higher education from Texas A&M in Commerce.

Outside of her work at the college, Brown volunteers for her church, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic in Rockwall. She has also helped with Texas Mission of Mercy and the Southwest Dental Conference.

While the 2020-21 school year was an unprecedented challenge for faculty and students alike, Brown adapted to virtual teaching by recording preclinical material. After helping students push through pandemic uncertainty, she commends this graduating class in particular for “their ability to grow and change with anything that was thrown at them. I am forever honored and grateful for this prestigious award.”