Oregon State University welcomes dean of College of Pharmacy
David Bearden, interim dean of Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy since December 2020, has been named dean of the college.
Bearden has served in numerous college leadership positions since joining OSU in 2001. His appointment as dean is effective March 20.
“I’m excited for this opportunity to lead the OSU College of Pharmacy as we continue to tackle major challenges in advancing health in Oregon and beyond,” said Bearden. “Having seen the college’s advancement firsthand over the last two decades, I am eager to expand on that vision and the college’s impact.”
The College of Pharmacy, which is based in Corvallis and Portland, has a total of approximately 70 faculty and staff and enrolls just over 300 students. Last fiscal year it received more than $8 million in research funding.
“Dave Bearden will do an outstanding job advancing the College of Pharmacy’s mission of teaching, research, community service, and preparing and graduating high quality pharmacists to contribute to wellness,” said Ed Feser, OSU provost and executive vice president. “He has established strong momentum in the college as interim dean and he is an outstanding steward of our valued partnerships with OHSU.”
Prior to being named interim dean, Bearden served as associate dean for academic integration and clinical advancement, during which he enhanced OSU’s College of Pharmacy’s connections with Oregon Health & Science University’s academic and clinical pharmacy units. This relationship includes a jointly-conferred doctorate of pharmacy degree program from OSU and OHSU and OSU pharmacy’s programs offered at the Robertson Collaborative Life Sciences Building in Portland.
From 2009 to 2018, Bearden served as either interim chair and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice.
He began his career at Oregon State as a clinical assistant professor. As a clinical faculty member, he has been a practicing pharmacist and previously served as an inpatient clinical specialist in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy at OHSU and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He maintains a clinical administrative practice as a director with OHSU Pharmacy and Clinical Nutrition Services with a focus on clinical education and infectious diseases.
Bearden holds a doctorate of pharmacy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed a residency at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, and a fellowship in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.