Margarita Benítez
Dr. Margarita Benítez is Executive Director of Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. She holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy, and graduate degrees in Hispanic Studies from Vassar College (BA), Middlebury College (MA), and Columbia University (PhD). Her lifelong involvement with higher education began at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), where she was born and raised. At UPR, Dr. Benítez was a professor of literature and humanities, as well as chancellor of UPR’s Cayey Campus, and acting chancellor of UPR’s Humacao campus. After moving to Washington, DC in 1997, she held a number of senior positions in higher-education organizations, such as the Office of Postsecondary Education in the US Dept. of Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Excelencia in Education, The Education Trust, and the American Council on Education. Dr. Benítez has presented and published multiple papers on topics related to higher education, accreditation, women's issues, and Hispanic literature and culture in the U.S. In addition, she has taught at Columbia University, Fordham University, SUNY/Albany, and several universities in Spain. In 2018, Dr. Benítez returned to Puerto Rico after being appointed executive director of the Puerto Rico Endowment for the Humanities, the first woman to lead the nonprofit organization.
