Professor Rennolds Ostrom was named dean of Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy on Tuesday, March 5.
Ostrom has served as interim dean of the School of Pharmacy since June 2022. He steered the school through a challenging enrollment environment, prepared for its accrediting review and formed a diversity, equity and inclusion task force, Chapman Provost Norma Bouchard said.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected to lead the School of Pharmacy,” Ostrom said. “The rapid upward trajectory of CUSP in both research and overall rankings of U.S. schools of pharmacy makes this an exciting place to be a faculty member, staff or student. I look forward to continuing our rise and playing a central role in the growth of Chapman University.”
Ostrom has more than 160 peer-reviewed articles and published abstracts to his credit, and he has received more than $6 million in funding for his research in therapeutics, cell physiology and molecular pharmacology. In 2023, he and his collaborators were awarded more than $2.2 million in R01 funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop new drugs for people with asthma.
“Dr. Ostrom is a skilled educator, an accomplished researcher and an effective administrator who embraces the philosophy of servant leadership,” Bouchard said. “He is fully committed to empowering each person on the team and looks forward to working with faculty, staff, students and fellow administrators.”
Ostrom joined Chapman in 2016 and has served as interim associate dean of assessment and accreditation for the School of Pharmacy, faculty fellow for the Office of Research and on the Faculty Personnel Council. He has mentored undergraduate student researchers, postdoctoral fellows and major advisors to MS and Ph.D. students.
He serves on several professional editorial boards and is a frequent journal reviewer. He is a grant submission reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Assn. and National Science Foundation. He has been invited to speak around the U.S. and abroad.
He earned his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of California, Irvine and was a postdoctoral fellow and research faculty member at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. He then joined the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, becoming a professor and then director of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program.
