Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande, 48, is a Professor of Economics and Dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University, a position he has held since June 2000. He is the chief academic officer of the business school, offering 9 undergraduate majors, 11 certificate programs, and 20 graduate degrees.
Dean Akande holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University Masters in Public Administration, Masters of Arts in Economics and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma. He completed post-doctoral studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and executive programs in leadership at Harvard University. Dean Akande has been recognized as one of St. Louis' Most Influential Leaders from 2007-2010. In 2007, Dean Akande was honored with the St. Louis Business Journal Most Influential Minority Business Leaders award.
In 25 years as a professor and administrator, Dr. Akande has demonstrated the capacity to lead with significant personal involvement, and has made meaningful contributions that have transformed institutions and enabled them to be better positioned to meet and exceed their mission.
In the area of institutional advancement, Dr. Akande was instrumental in securing the largest gift in the history of Wayland Baptist University; a multi-million dollar gift from the Joachin Foundation benefiting the School of Education. His stewardship also resulted in a multi-million contribution by David and Myrt Wilder that resulted in the construction of a state-of-the-art baseball facility at Wayland. At Webster University Dean Akande played a key role that resulted in a $10 million gift by Ambassador George H. Walker III, the largest single gift in the history of Webster University. In the past twenty years, Dr. Akande has worked collaboratively with others in securing over $20 million of grants, gifts and contributions from alumni, friends, corporations, governments, and institutional organizations, strengthening the capacity of the institutions he has served to foster educational excellence.
Dr. Akande has shown an unrelenting commitment to the central tenets of higher education as an award-winning teacher at several universities, both private and public, personally impacting the lives of hundreds of students. His application-based research interest has centered on economic development, leadership and generational diversity.
Throughout his tenure at Webster University Dean Akande has dedicated himself to student-centered education that has enabled both the traditional college-age cohort and non-traditional working adults to access creative student enrichment programs, mentorships, internships and employment opportunities. In addition, Dean Akande is an ardent fan of collegiate athletics dating back from his days as a student at the University of Oklahoma and understands its role in student life, alumni relations and development, and institutional branding.
The Dean's fiscal responsibilities at Webster University include the preparation and oversight of enterprise-wide operational and instructional budgets, allocation of resources, approval of expenditure requests, and management of various budgets totaling $25 million and generating more than $45 million annually.
Dr. Akande has served as co-chair of Webster's Institutional Planning Committee 2008/2009, which was charged with crafting and implementing the institution's 2020 strategic plan. The Dean has a stellar record of advancing the institution's commitment to diversity.
Under his leadership, Webster University has led the nation in the last ten years in graduating masters-level, diverse students as recognized by Diverse Magazine and the U.S. Department of Education. Further, Dr. Akande has been instrumental in recruiting a strong team of diverse faculty and staff across the Webster University system, a goal set early in his term.
Dr. Akande's entrepreneurial attitude towards innovation gave birth to such creative initiatives as the 2008 launch of Webster's Global MBA - fulltime one-year, multi country, culturally immersed program featuring an academically rigorous curriculum and a highly selective national recruiting base. One hundred percent of the first graduate GMBA cohort are gainfully employed. The Dean has been strategic and successful in building corporate education partnerships and alliances with such institutions as Ameren Electric, BJC HealthCare, Wal-Mart and working collaboration with the St. Louis Regional Business Council, a consortium of presidents and CEO’s of 100 of the region's largest midcap companies, employing over 100,000 and generating more than $15 billion in annual sales. The Dean led the creation of the Energizer International Staff Exchange Initiative, provides offers Webster staff the opportunity to gain global exposure. Beginning in the fall of 2011, the Walker School will launch the Masters in Science in Forensic Accounting. The program offers an interesting mix of accounting, investigation, valuation and law.
Dean Akande's unwavering commitment to academic excellence led to the successful pursuit of ACBSP specialized accreditation of the business school with best-in-class honors for quality assurance and consistent delivery of curriculum. Webster was the first non-profit traditional multi-campus university in the United States to receive the ACBSP accreditation. Dean Akande was part of the university leadership team that successfully presided over the ten-year reaffirmation of the Higher Learning Commission's institutional accreditation in 2008. Webster University was cited for distinctions and accomplishments in international education, success with diversity and its student-centered culture.
The Dean leads one of the few truly global institutions with a long-term presence in ten countries, with extended impact on students of more than 100 nationalities and 150,000 alumni. Dr. Akande has effectively used technology to enable curriculum development in a multifaceted manner combining "click and brick" delivery of content across a global platform.
Dean Akande serves on the boards of the Rx Outreach, a non-profit organization with the singular goal of providing affordable medications to the uninsured; Xiolink, a premier provider of managed infrastructure hosting and computing solutions provider; The Private Bank of St. Louis; The Vandiver Group, a strategic communications firm offering strategic counsel, public relations, branding, market research and media sustainability. Dr. Akande is a Trustee at Mary Institute Country Day School, a private, coeducational institution in Saint Louis County where he chairs the Investment Committee, and is a Vice Chair of Beyond Housing, a leading provider of housing and support services for low-income families and homeowners in the Saint Louis region. Dean Akande is a member of the Advisory Board of Deans and Provost, an academic publication.
The Dean consults for leading Fortune 500 companies in the areas of strategy, leadership, corporate responsibility and market positioning. He is a former consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Dean Akande is a highly sought after speaker and is a regular commentator on Business, Economics, at the local and national level on Fox, NBC and CBS and CNN networks. He authors monthly book review published by Ladue News and syndicated nationally.
Dean Akande is completing work on a book entitled "The IPOD Generation: It's Their World, We're Just Living in it." The book insights into the Internet savvy, Phone addicted, Opportunistic, Digital conscience generation.
Dean Akande has a record for successfully articulating the case for innovative academic programs, ensuring support for the university and enrolling a broad base constituency to move the innovation from success and to strive to achieve significance. He is passionate about sharing the institution's story and enjoys engaging alumni wherever they are the world over. Dr. Akande relishes the possibilities that come when one dares to look around the corner and believes that the future belongs to those who can see it.
Dr. Akande and his wife Bola have three daughters.
"Webster must stay on the forefront of innovation by demonstrating the audacity and courage to see things differently. "
- Dr. Benjamin Akande
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