Vicki Ellingrod, the John Gideon Searle Professor and professor of pharmacy, has been named the next dean of the College of Pharmacy.

Ellingrod is a scholar, educator and administrator who has dedicated her career to mentoring the next generation of pharmacy and translational science leaders. Her five-year term begins July 1 and was approved by the Board of Regents on May 19.

She succeeds James Dalton, who stepped down to become executive vice president and provost at the University of Alabama. Senior Associate Dean Bruce Mueller has served as interim dean since July 1, 2020.

“Dr. Ellingrod is a skilled and successful researcher, a valued mentor, and an experienced leader,” said Laurie McCauley, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

“Her support for innovation and her collaborative style will enhance the College of Pharmacy’s work with health science researchers across U-M and beyond, and will contribute to advances in pharmaceutical practice across the state.”

Ellingrod is a senior associate dean at the college, and also a professor of psychiatry in the Medical School and an adjunct professor of psychology in LSA. She has 16 years of service at U-M, having joined the College of Pharmacy’s Department of Clinical Sciences in 2006 as an associate professor with tenure, as well as in the Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry. She was promoted to professor in 2012.

Among her many leadership roles at U-M, Ellingrod has served as associate chair of the Department of Clinical, Social, and Administrative Sciences between 2013-15 and associate dean for research and graduate education from 2016-20. She was appointed senior associate dean in 2020.

“I am truly honored to be named the next College of Pharmacy dean and to be the first female to serve in this role,” Ellingrod said. “Being able to lead our college community as we amplify our research enterprise and innovate within our educational programs, while also advancing pharmacy practice to achieve health equity for all Michiganders, is what excites me most about this position.”

Ellingrod also plays an important role in mentoring the next generation of pharmacy and translational science leaders, as well as trainees outside of pharmacy.

In 2012, she was awarded the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research’s Clinical Translational Science Mentor Award, and went on to become MICHR’s associate director for education and mentorship. Under her leadership, the number of MICHR female and underrepresented trainees has more than doubled.

Ellingrod said while the College of Pharmacy has a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, she looks forward to deepening this commitment during the next five years.

Ellingrod is one of only three Doctors of Pharmacy who have received fellowship status within the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, a premier psychiatry organization.

She was also the first PharmD to receive K award support and the first PharmD at U-M to obtain and renew R01 support, a research project grant from the National Institutes of Health. She has been continually funded by the NIH for more than 20 years.

Her service to the profession includes an editorial role for scientific publications, as well as a co-author on more than 130 articles, reviews and book and book chapters.

Prior to joining U-M, she held numerous positions in the clinical and administrative pharmacy division of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Iowa from 1996-2005, including associate in the division, director of the Pharmacogenetics Laboratory, assistant professor, associate professor with tenure, and chair of the clinical pharmaceutical sciences Ph.D. program.

Ellingrod also was an adjunct clinical instructor in the University of Iowa College of Nursing from 1999-2006.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1992 and PharmD degree in 1994, both from the University of Minnesota.

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