BUIES CREEK — Michael L. Adams, an assistant dean and an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Campbell University, has been named the next dean of Campbell’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, effective Jan. 1, 2015. Adams will succeed current CPHS dean, Ronald W. Maddox, who will retire effective Dec. 31. CPHS has been under the leadership of Maddox since its inception in 1986.
“I am overjoyed that Michael Adams has agreed to serve as the next dean of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences,” said Mark Hammond, Campbell’s vice president of academic affairs and provost. “He is an ardent supporter of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, the university, and their Christian heritage and mission.”
A 1996 Doctor of Pharmacy summa cum laude graduate of Campbell, Adams returned to the pharmacy school as an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in 2005. In 2009, he became the school’s director of Science Education Outreach and served in that position through 2012, when he was named assistant dean for graduate and interprofessional education.
As dean of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Adams will be responsible for the oversight and administration of Campbell’s pharmacy, physician assistant, Doctor of Physical Therapy, nursing, clinical research, and pharmaceutical sciences programs.
In addition to academic and administrative accomplishments, Adams has been named Professor of the Year by second-year pharmacy students every year since he joined the faculty.
“In academics, it is essential to connect with students and to ignite their passion to learn. He embodies those qualities,” Maddox said of his successor. “The college and our students will continue to excel because of that.”
After earning his pharmacy degree from Campbell, Adams completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Medicinal Chemistry in 2003 from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in Seattle, Washington. He then went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He has been a registered pharmacist in North Carolina since 1996.
“I remember making the decision to apply to Campbell when I was a senior in high school, and I knew that decision would have a significant impact on my life,” said Adams. “Now I have been given the opportunity to give back and make an impact on the future of my alma mater. It’s truly a humbling experience.”
Adams is a lifetime member of the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Alumni Association, as well as a member of numerous other professional societies and organizations, including the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and the American Chemical Society.
He attributes much of his success to his wife, Dina Hall Adams, an alumna of Campbell’s pharmacy school, and their 5-year-old daughter, Halle.
About Campbell University’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences: Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences is committed to preparing students to excel in the ever-expanding world of health care. In addition to the Doctor of Pharmacy program, the college offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in clinical research and pharmaceutical sciences, a master’s degree in public health, and a professional degree in physician assistant practice. Most recently, the college seated its first class of Doctor of Physical Therapy students in January 2014 and will welcome its first cohort of Bachelor of Science in nursing students this fall pending SACSCOC approval.