Emily Holt ’00, B’01, M’04, faculty member in the USI Dental Hygiene/ Assisting Program, knew the bar was set high when she started down the clinical faculty promotion road at USI. No other individual at USI had ever been promoted to clinical professor, but that didn’t deter her from her goal to be the first, inspiring not only her colleagues, but her children.
“I love leaving behind a legacy that my family and I can be proud of,” said Holt. “My pursuit of being the first clinical track faculty member to be promoted to clinical professor is a testament to my children that we can do hard things.”
Holt said USI’s decision to create a clinical track for promotion was a step in the right direction. “So many health professions faculty members have a practice focus and fit nicely into this track,” she said. “Recognizing the practice as an impactful component to teaching and employment at USI is beneficial to the students' learning and the growth of our education programs.”
Holt began teaching as an adjunct in the clinical and lab settings in August 2001 and her full-time teaching assignment began in August 2006. She graduated from USI three times, earning an associate of science degree in dental hygiene in 2000, bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene education and health services in 2001 and a master of health administration degree in 2004.
Originally from Jasper, Indiana, Holt became interested in a career in dental hygiene as a teenager. “When I was in high school, my mom encouraged me to be a dental hygienist because one of my cousins had that career,” she said. “I worked for my own dentist during my junior and senior year of high school and decided I liked the field.”
Holt says the courses she teaches at USI influence the research she performs. “This includes chairside application of content,” she said. “I also prepare students for licensure examinations that include didactic and clinical. I have published several pieces with that focus, as well.”
Outside of the education setting, Holt has had long standing positions at several dental practices and continues to work as a dental hygienist once a week at an Evansville office. During the spring and summer months, she travels as an examiner for the CDCA/WREB licensing agency to administer clinical examinations in dental hygiene throughout the United States.
