Marc Tennant - Portfolio

Prizes and Awards

Over the past two decades, Marc has garnered numerous local and national accolades. In 2022 this culminated in being made a Member of the Order of Australia by the Governor General of Australia.
Other notable awards is the meritorious service award from the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), recognising his contributions to Indigenous Australia and dental education. He has also been honored with Lifetime Fellowship at St Catherines College for his service to education, as well as Fellowship of the RACDS without examination for his notable contributions to society and education. He remains a Fellow by invitation of the International College of Dentists and Academy of Dentists.

   Furthermore, Marc has received the Excellence in Service award from the Health Consumers Council of Western Australia for his outstanding contributions to society.

   In recognition of his dedicated service to dental students, he has been granted Life Membership of the Dental Student Society in Western Australia. Griffith University has established the "Marc Tennant Prize" for dental undergraduates, a testament to Marc's unwavering commitment to the university and his initiatives promoting social justice for Rural, Remote, and Indigenous Australians over the past decade. Additionally, The University of Western Australia Student Guild acknowledged Marc for his excellence in teaching and student service, naming one of its cafes in his honour.

Executive advice

Marc is currently a member of a number of high level committee’s both in Australia and Internationally. Currently he is Clinical Director of Oral Health for the Country health service of WA, one of the geographically largest health services in the world. Marc was a member of the global working group on quality in dentistry and is currently a member of the State ACHS consulting board (for over a decade now) having been a coordinating accreditor both nationally and internationally for 15 years.

   Marc was, for over two decades, a member of the peak research allocating body of Australia (various committees). Marc was a member of the National Committee responsible for drafting Australia's inaugural National Oral Health Plan. Marc has been president of the local branch of the International Associate for Dental Research on two occasions totalling some 8-10 years.

   For over a decade Marc assisted in the drafting of responses to questions from Ministers across Australia as well as responses to parliamentary questions. He has advising various parliamentarians (Ministers and Premiers) for over 25 years.

Dental School Innovation

After developing innovative solutions to dental education in Western Australia through the late 1990s, Marc was invited to serve as Professor and the inaugural Clinical Dean at Australia's first new dental school in 60 years. The development was successfully completed within the established timeframe and budget, boasting an enrollment of approximately 400 dental students now. Following the completion of the Griffith project, Marc was approached to assume the role of founding Head of Department for the new dental school at La Trobe University. During his service at La Trobe, Marc led a small team that initiated the oral health therapy program and conducted the initial planning and development for the commencement of the dental program in 2008. This marked the establishment of the second new dental school in Australia in over half a century, with Marc playing a pivotal role in both startups. His responsibilities included guiding the programs through various accreditation processes, all of which were successfully achieved.

   Following these successful multimillion dollar projects Marc was invited to serve as the principal dental consultant for the development of the dental school at James Cook University, the third new school in Australia. Once again, Marc was invited to contribute to its leadership team. As a visiting Professor, Marc continues to provide mentorship to academics and collaborates with members of these schools. Concurrently, in regional New South Wales, Australia's fourth new dental school commenced planning at the same time as James Cook University, with Marc serving as the principal dental advisor to this development.

This work has seen Australian dental education double in size and improve access to dental care for millions of Australians.

Marc's groundbreaking work in dental school development has expanded to advising dental schools worldwide on improvement initiatives and conducting various reviews. He has evolved into a highly sort-after global mentor for dental education leaders. To this day he provides strategic advice to universities and governments on innovative solutions to the difficult problems of dental education.