Meet Dr. Rennolds Ostrom: The new dean of Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy
Dr. Ostrom, who has served as interim dean since 2022, spoke with The Panther on his background in research and the future of the School of Pharmacy. Photo by EMI THOMAS, Staff Photographer
Although he has an extensive research background, Dr. Rennolds Ostrom is the child of two teachers, and education is central to who he is. Ostrom, who has been the interim dean for Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy since 2022, was named the new dean of the school last month.
Ostrom received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Dartmouth University. A California native, he returned to his home state, where he earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Irvine. As a doctoral student, Ostrom studied pharmacology and the chemicals that signal control of the muscles of the airway, known as ‘receptors.’
He went on to complete his postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego, where he furthered his knowledge of cellular-molecular approaches to research questions.
After completing his education, Ostrom went on to teach at the University of Tennessee. There, at the College of Medicine, he rose through the ranks as a professor and was named program director. Ostrom remained at the university for nearly 14 years, where he continued his research on molecular signaling of the airway as a means of treating asthma.
“I came here after being at big research institutions because I was excited about being able to continue to balance both teaching and research. Chapman, its teaching emphasis, its student-centeredness, really resonated with me.”
While being an educator is a large part of the new dean’s identity, his love for research is still very strong.
“It was a bit of a leap of faith to come here because research is much smaller. But, I saw the School of Pharmacy had just been founded and research was a major focus,” Ostrom said. “(President Struppa) was talking about growing research institution-wide, and I saw a lot of opportunities to help build that research and that excited me too.”
Founded in 2013, Chapman University’s School of Pharmacy (CUSP) is still in its infancy. Ostrom plans to bring both his seasoned experience and novel ideas to the school as a means of changing it for the better.
“I really do like to impact things where I am,” Ostrom said. “I always want to invest time in the future of the place where I am at because that just gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
Although Ostrom was just officially named dean on a permanent basis, he has been at CUSP since 2016 and began serving as the school’s interim dean in 2022.
“Why stay on as dean? Because I want to continue growing what we have here. We’re a young school. We’re kind of out of the start-up phase and going into the maturation phase now, and it’s a really critical part of a school’s history. It’s exciting to be a part of that. It’s exciting to kind of nurture it through this period (...) I want this to be the last place I ever work.”
Ostrom also shared how his robust background as a researcher, mentor for undergraduate students, journal reviewer and more has shaped his leadership style.
“I try to be as selfless as I can,” Ostrom said. “I think it always has to be about others first. It takes a confident humility. You need to be confident enough, secure enough in your own abilities to be humble.”
Modesty in Ostrom’s leadership style is just one part of his approach to administration. He went on to explain the importance he places on ensuring that those he leads know just how essential their position is to the school’s operation.
“I’m very much a team player, and I believe in the team dynamic,” Ostrom said. “My view of teamwork is that everyone feels important.”
He also went on to highlight how important it is that members of his team see the value in what they do.
“Ownership is part of belonging. We all have ownership of this,” Ostrom stated.
Since becoming dean, he has already established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force at CUSP.
“We have a diverse school — that's great,” Ostrom said. “We have a healthy culture — that’s good too. But like anything else, if you don’t look after it and tend to it, if you don't invest in it, it goes stale. It goes bad.”
This is just one of the ways the new dean plans to maintain the steady progression of CUSP moving forward.
Ostrom shared other plans for the School of Pharmacy’s future as well. He looks forward to leading CUSP through its accreditation — which the school has been preparing for over the past two years — in April.
He also plans on developing the school’s new strategic plan, something that was put on pause during his interim status. Dr Ostrom explained how the strategic plan has the power to “enhance” the culture of ownership and teamwork he said was so important to his leadership style.
With his strong research background, Ostrom feels he has what it takes to continue to “nurture” the research already taking place within the school as a means of raising the institution’s rankings.
“We need to continue to find ways to grow (the research) because it is launching us up in the rankings. Ultimately, our long-term goals are to increase our rankings, to be in the top 15 in the United States and to double our research dollars that we bring into the school. Those are pretty lofty goals.”
Ostrom’s most important tool for achieving these goals? “Producing the world’s best pharmacists,” he said.
The new dean highlighted the aspects of CUSP he holds in high regard.
“I’m always trying to point out how incredible our students are, how caring and passionate our faculty are — inside the classroom, outside the classroom — as practitioners, as researchers (and) as scholars,” Ostrom said. “And our leadership team — I have a team of associate deans that are fantastic. They make my job easy.”
Ostrom shared how those at the school care deeply about keeping people safe with medications, which he described as the “essence of pharmacy.” Beyond that, he praised the school’s professors for teaching their students to do the same.
“(The staff) are passionate about training the next generation of pharmacists. There’s a lot of components into going from someone who can learn to someone who can really help another human being and be trusted with their health and safety. That’s a tall order, and we love that job.”
