OU College of Pharmacy Names New Dean

The University of Oklahoma announced today the appointment of Melissa Medina, Ed.D., as dean of the OU College of Pharmacy, pending approval from the OU Board of Regents. Medina will begin the new role on June 16.

Medina, who has been serving as interim dean of the College of Pharmacy since last September, was selected after a national search.

"With her breadth of experience as a superb researcher, award-winning educator and collaborative leader, Dr. Melissa Medina is poised to provide the innovative leadership needed to ensure the College of Pharmacy's continued excellence," said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. "Her deep understanding of the university's goals, state workforce needs and health outcomes make her the ideal candidate to step into this role. we look forward to the remarkable impact she will continue to have on the college and larger community."

Medina joined the OU College of Pharmacy faculty in 2000 and currently serves as a professor and associate dean for assessment and evaluation. In those roles, she teaches in the college’s Clinical Communication Course and directs teaching certificate programs and workshops for faculty, residents, and graduate and professional students within the college, across campus, nationally and internationally. She also leads the College of Pharmacy’s co-curriculum program, as well as the Residency Teaching Certificate Programs for first- and second-year residents.

She is active in the Faculty Leadership Program for OU Health Sciences, providing workshops and peer evaluations for her colleagues in all seven colleges on campus. She is also the director of the Preparing Future Faculty Program, which prepares senior-level graduate students for faculty careers in academia.

Medina has been active as a researcher, serving as an author or co-author for nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal publications, most focusing on pharmacy student learning and health professional education. She recently worked to secure a $1.5 million grant from the Inasmuch Foundation to focus on student success and workforce development. She is also associate editor for the American Journal of Pharmacy Education and serves as a journal article reviewer for several other pharmacy publications.

Medina is a member of multiple professional organizations, including the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Education Research Association and American Psychological Association.

Over the past two decades, Medina has won two of the four highest honors in pharmacy education: the 2023 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Lyman Award for Publication of the Year in the American Journal of Pharmacy Education, and the Robert K. Chalmers National Distinguished Pharmacy Educator of the Year Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. She has received eight other national pharmacy education awards and 12 OU teaching awards, including a David Ross Boyd Professorship, a Presidential Professorship, an OU Health Sciences Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching and the OU College of Pharmacy Teacher of the Year Award.

“Over the past 24 years, Dr. Medina has provided exceptional leadership in the OU College of Pharmacy, and her dedication to excellence in pharmacy education is invaluable,” said Gary Raskob, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost of OU Health Sciences. “We are pleased that she will be serving as the 14^th dean of the College of Pharmacy and know that she will continue elevating the college and the discipline of pharmacy in the years to come.”

Prior to joining the OU College of Pharmacy, Medina was an instructor in the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education in New Jersey. She earned both her master of education degree and her doctor of education degree from Rutgers University Graduate School of Education.