Moving into administration in the 1980s, she was rector and then president of UPR Cayey while simultaneously serving as the acting chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao.

His three children, Clotilde, Margarita and Jaime,[2] grew up in a home surrounded by intellectuals from many countries, who exposed them to many ideas.

[6][7] While attending Vassar College she spent a year in Spain, studying Spanish literature and philosophy in Madrid.

She was in charge of development for university programs serving minorities and implementation of Title V of the Higher Education Act.

[16] This section of the law deals with providing federal funding to tertiary institutions which meet specifications for eliminating the under-representation of Latinos in higher education.

[17] As a senior associate with the Institute for Higher Education Policy from 2004, she was responsible for the Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students project and the National Articulation and Transfer Network.

[11][16] Along with Teresa Langle de Paz, in 2011 Benítez co-founded and became co-director of Women's Knowledge International, a global project headquartered at the Culture of Peace Foundation at the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain.

That year, she joined the American Council on Education as interim assistant vice-president overseeing their fellowship program.