Mathew J. Bateman, Ph.D., D.H.Ed., has been named Interim Dean of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (LECOM) School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, FL. Dr. Bateman replaces Dr. Anton Gotleib, D.D.S., M.S., who has retired.

Silvia M. Ferretti, D.O., Provost, Senior Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs for LECOM, in announcing the appointment, said, “During this time of transition from Dr. Gotlieb to a new dean, LECOM has elected to select an interim dean who will guide the school toward continued excellence.”

Dr. Bateman has served as LECOM’s Assistant Dean of Curriculum, Evaluation, and Faculty and is the Institutional Director of Planning, Assessment, Accreditation, and Research, overseeing institutional strategic planning, accreditation for all of LECOM’s programs, grant applications and management, and institutional research.

While serving as Institutional Director of Planning, Assessment, Accreditation and Research, Dr. Bateman has worked closely with LECOM’s primary accreditor, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, both in maintaining accreditation for LECOM and in serving on several site teams, compliance teams, and as a periodic reviewer of other colleges and universities.  He is also a site inspector for the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, the accrediting body for the nation’s colleges of osteopathic medicine.

He has been an integral part of the LECOM team working with the Commission on Dental Accreditation in obtaining and maintaining the accreditation for the School of Dental Medicine. His knowledge of the operations, academic structure and plans for the School of Dental Medicine make him ideally suited to serve as the school’s Interim Dean.

Dr. Bateman completed his undergraduate education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His qualifications as an anatomist were earned during his doctoral program at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Dr. Bateman became a post-doctoral fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and upon completion, became an assistant professor at Chadron State College in Nebraska, where he taught in the biological sciences department, conducted research and served as  site coordinator for the college as part of the Nebraska Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence program.

Dr. Bateman joined LECOM in 2006 as a basic sciences faculty member, teaching in all disciplines of anatomy.

In 2009, he earned his Doctor of Health Education (D.H.Ed.) degree from A.T. Still University, School of Health Management in Kirksville, MO. While completing his second doctoral degree, he served as the assistant director of the LECOM Lecture Discussion Pathway in Erie, PA, helping to oversee medical students’ pre-clinical education. Dr. Bateman was later named Assistant Dean of Curriculum, Faculty and Assessment, at which time he developed a new approach for the Problem-Based Learning pathway to gross anatomy that was implemented at the LECOM Seton Hill campus and was subsequently adapted to the dental curriculum.

Dr. Bateman has continued his professional training by attending the Harvard Macy Institute, A Systems Approach to Assessment in Health Profession Education, and attending the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Institute.

LECOM has engaged a search firm to assist in the recruitment of a new dean for the School of Dental Medicine.