Dr. Carlos Smith is a gifted leader and communicator across multiple disciplines.
Currently, he serves as the inaugural Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, Ethics, and Community Engagement and Associate Professor in the Department of Dental Public Health and Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. He also serves as an affiliate faculty member of the VCU Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation. After nearly a decade in community dentistry and private practice, he joined VCU in 2015 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Practice and served in a variety of roles, including Group Practice Leader, Course Director and faculty in both clinical and preclinical courses. He serves on the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Collaborative on Dental Education Climate Assessment, which led the first ever dental education-wide climate study. With a strong commitment to the liberal arts, ethics education and moral leadership, he is a member of the board of directors for the Academy for Professionalism in Health Care, an organization devoted to enhancing professionalism through ethics and humanities education. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American College of Dentists and an active Fellow in the American College of Dentists (ACD), where he served on their national strategic planning core team. He is President-Elect of the American Society for Dental Ethics and the lone dentist on the CVS Health National Health Equity Advisory Board.
Dr. Smith is a national voice on dental ethics and inclusive excellence in dental education and is often called upon as a content expert by groups such as the American Dental Association, National Dental Association and others.. He has provided keynote and seminar presentations for the ACD, ADEA, Virginia Health Catalyst, Virginia Dental Association, dental schools, hospital systems, and oral health advocacy groups. His scholarly activity currently focuses on conceptualizing a reimagined professionalism inclusive of critical consciousness and identity, the history of racism in healthcare, inclusive excellence in dental education, and provider wellbeing and burnout He maintains a private practice in general dentistry with the Dental Faculty Practice, is co-advisor to the VCU chapter of SNDA. He is a key thought leader across both the VCU Monroe Park and Health Sciences campuses, as well as the health system, for his commitment to inclusive excellence and health equity. Examples include chairing the campus wide History and Health Symposium, as well leading a VCU team in securing a grant from the American Association of Colleges and Universities to serve as thought partners to develop a Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Climate Assessment Toolkit.
Recent honors include the 2023 inaugural ADEA Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Faculty Leadership Award, 2021 Old Dominion Dental Society Dentist of the Year, 2021 ADEA Olav Alvares Award, 2020 School of Dentistry Dean’s Faculty Excellence Award for Humanism, 2020 Richmond Magazine Top Dentists - Best Instructional Dentist Category, 2018 National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health by the Congressional Black Caucus, and a 2019 Hampton University Forty Under 40 Alumni Recognition Society Inductee. He is a graduate of the ADEA Leadership Institute, the ADA Institute for Diversity in Leadership, and the AAL Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Smith earned his DDS from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School, Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University, Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, and BS in Biology from Hampton University. A staunch advocate for belonging, he sees cultivating the holistic success of students, staff and faculty as one of his key life missions.
An ordained clergy, he completed clinical pastoral education at Duke Medical Center, providing care and crisis management to families of cardiac pediatric patients. He served in pastoral ministry, with varied roles such as associate pastor, young adults pastor, college pastor, and as a member of pastoral teaching teams with a key emphasis on holistic young adult development. During his time in Durham, NC, Smith ministered during weekend and mid-week services as well as taught Christian education courses. He served as both the young adults pastor and college pastor, ministering to more than 1200 students across 12 college and university campuses in the Triangle area. In 2013, Carlos served as a panelist on young adult ministry in the 21st century at the International Pastors and Leadership Conference hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes.
He counts as his greatest joy being a husband to Heather and father to their daughters Savannah, Vivian and Evelyn. He also loves college sports, mentoring, being a history buff and a burger aficionado.
With a call to and heart for Richmond, VA, Carlos and his family moved from the comforts of their Durham NC lives in the fall of 2015 to embark upon the unknown of a new journey in the city of Richmond.
