Joan Gluch, PhD, RDH, PHDHP

Professional Biography

At Penn Dental Medicine, Dr. Joan Gluch serves as Division Chief of Community Oral Health, leading twenty one faculty and staff to develop and implement community based clinical outreach programs and dental school curriculum in behavioral health sciences, community health, health promotion/disease prevention, and public health. She directs the community health service learning courses and provides oversight for the PDM clinical outreach programs: Penn Smiles, the mobile children’s dental care program; the dental program at LIFE for low income elderly; and at Puentes de Salud, sering an immagrant popualtion of children and adults. Dr. Gluch also coordinates the community health honors program, advises the dual degree DMD/MPH program for pre-doctoral dental students at Penn and serves as program faculty for the inter-professional education program, Bridging the Gaps.

Dr. Gluch’s research interests focus on expanding access to oral health promotion and clinical care in community based settings. She has ongoing research support for four projects from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). For two of the projects, she serves as principal investigator: Expanding Pediatric Dentistry Training in Pre-Doctoral Education (2017-2022) and Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program (2018-2023). For the other two projects she serves as program faculty, includes Fellowship in Community Medicine Leadership for ACTION (2018-2023) and Innovative Post-Doctoral Training in General Dentistry (2020-2025).

In her position as Associate Dean for Academic Policies, Dr. Gluch ensures compliance with the required standards of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) for both the predoctoral and post graduate dental education programs. Dr. Gluch works in an integrative role with administration and graduate program directors on specific projects to evaluate and improve operations and policies at PDM.

Honors / Credentials

• Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute
• Senior Fellow, Center for Public Health Initiatives
• University Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
• Netter Center Award for Faculty-Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania, 2018
• Honorary Penn Dental Medicine Alumni Award, Penn Dental Medicine, 2018
• Certificate of Appreciation Teaching Award, Class of 2014, Penn Dental Medicine, 2014
• One Health Award, University of Pennsylvania, Bridging the Gap Program, 2014
• Alumni Special Achievement Award, University of Pennsylvania Dental Hygiene Alumni 2009
• Omicron Kappa Upsilon, Eta Chapter (Dental Honor Society), 2007
• Irene Newman Award, American Dental Hygienists’ Association, 2006
• American Dental Hygienists’ Association/Warner Lambert Award of Excellence, 1996
• Alpha Eta Society, Beta Chapter (Allied Health Honor Society), 1984
• Sigma Phi Alpha, Kappa Chapter (Dental Hygiene Honor Society), 1977

Education

• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1992
• Ed.M., Temple University, 1976
• B.S., Columbia University, 1974
• Temple University, Certificate of Dental Hygiene, 1972