By Sholnn Z. Freeman
Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA announced the appointment of Oluwaranti “Ranti” Akiyode, Pharm.D., as College of Pharmacy dean. Akiyode has been serving as the interim dean of the College of Pharmacy since July 2022, and has taught at Howard University for 21 years.
“After a nationwide search, we are delighted that Dr. Akiyode has agreed to serve as the next dean of the College of Pharmacy,” Dr. Frederick said. “She is an accomplished scholar, an academic leader with a proven track record, and an individual with the skills to drive the strategic vision of the college forward.”
Akiyode has extensive administrative experience and a long record of advancing diabetes treatment, education, and research. She was the founding pharmacist at the Howard University Hospital Diabetes Treatment Center in 2007. Over the past decade, she established the delivery of medication therapy and diabetes management service in collaboration with the center’s endocrinologists, nurses, and dieticians. With Akiyode’s appointment, 11 of the 14 academic deanships at the University are held by women.
“I am so grateful to God and I would like to thank President Frederick for selecting me and giving me the opportunity to serve this illustrious university,” Akiyode said. “I am very excited. Howard is a very special place to me and I pledge to work hard to serve the students, along with faculty and staff, ,to build on the legacy of Chauncey Ira Cooper, the first dean of the College of Pharmacy.”
Akiyode is a full professor in the Department of Clinical & Administrative Pharmacy Sciences. Through the years, she has held positions of increasing responsibility at the College of Pharmacy. In her career at Howard, she has served as assistant dean of student affairs, and director of the professionalism and professional development. As dean of the College of Pharmacy, reporting to Anthony K. Wutoh, Ph.D., R.Ph., provost and chief academic officer.
Akiyode earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Jackson State University. She completed a bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences, and doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy. Postgraduate training in a community pharmacy residency was completed at Leesburg Pharmacy. She is board certified in pharmacotherapy and is a diabetes care and education specialist.
Akiyode is the recipient of various awards including the HU Pharmacy Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty of the Year Award (2018), Faculty Preceptor of the Year (2017), and the American Diabetes Association “DC Diabetes Educator of the Year” Award (2011). She has published in various scholarly and clinical publications including: the Journal of Pharmacy Practice, American Journal of Pharmacy Education, and American Journal of Health System Pharmacy. She also completed the coveted one-year American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Academic Leadership Fellows Program designed to develop the nation’s most promising faculty at Colleges of Pharmacy to become future leaders in pharmacy and higher education.
