Heads of Schools and Deans

Professor Andrew Flatau

BDS(Hons), BA(Hons), PhD

Professor Andrew Flatau is the inaugural Dean of Dentistry and Oral Health in the Centre for Rural Dentistry and Oral Health, which is embedded within the School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences. Prior to the restructure of Schools in 2021, he was Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at Charles Sturt University, to which he was appointed on 14 April, 2020.

Professor Flatau graduated from the University of Sydney with First Class Honours and the University Medal in both Dentistry (1982) and Arts (1988), and was awarded his PhD in 2001 for a thesis entitled 'The anatomy of the infratemporal fossa: dissections and historical representations'. Since then he has taught in various faculties at the University Sydney, and in 1988 at the dental school of the University of Iceland.

Since his appointment at Charles Sturt, Professor Flatau has been responsible for academic leadership of the Centre and maintaining strong relationships with external stakeholders of the programs, including professional associations and communities.

In his various academic positions, Professor Flatau has taught in a range of preclinical and clinical disciplines, including prosthodontics, restorative dentistry, oral anatomy, histology and physiology. He is now engaged with, and committed to building quality improvements in dental education in Australia.

Between 2021 and 2022, Professor Flatau served as the elected representative of the Australian Council of Dental Schools (ACODS) on the Australian Dental Council’s Professional competencies Advisory Committee, which reviewed the Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner, a publication that ensures that the competencies remain contemporary benchmarks of what is expected of a newly qualified dental practitioner in Australia.

Apart from the research output documented in his research profile, Professor Flatau is the co-author of two textbook chapters on the anatomy of the temporomandibular joint (1990) and the regional anatomy of the salivary glands (1995).

Professor Flatau’s current research interests are in the scholarship of teaching and learning, including the integration of models of reflective and inter-professional practice, the development of competency frameworks and the quality assurance of the work-readiness of new graduates.