Benjamin Ola. Akande
Dean
Webster University's School of Business

Dr. Benjamin Ola Akande, a Nigerian-born American citizen, is Professor of Economics and Dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University, a position he has held since June 2000. Dr. Akande also serves as Chief of Webster University’s Office of Corporate Partnerships. Webster University, founded in 1915, is a Tier One worldwide educational institution whose home campus is in St. Louis, Missouri, with a dynamic network of international campuses, numerous corporate partnerships and a highly reputable distance-learning program.

Dean Akande holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University, as well as Masters in Public Administration, Masters of Arts in Economics, and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Oklahoma. He completed additional studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and executive programs in leadership at Harvard University. For five years in a row, from 2007-2011, Dr. Akande was recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the city’s “Most Influential Leaders.” In more than twenty-five years as a professor and administrator, he has demonstrated the capacity to lead by investing significant personal involvement in his professional life. His tireless efforts have contributed to the transformation of institutions and organizations in the public and private sectors, consistently positioning them to fulfill their mission and surpass their goals.

Dr. Akande has shown an unrelenting commitment to the central tenets of higher education as an award-winning teacher and administrator, personally influencing the lives of thousands of students in his twenty-five years as a leader in the academy. His application-based research interest has focused on strategy, leadership, and generational diversity. Throughout his tenure at Webster University, Akande has dedicated himself to student-centered education without regard for customary demographics, enabling both traditional college-age and non-traditional working adult populations to access creative enrichment programs, mentorships, internships, and employment opportunities. Under his leadership, student enrollments and graduation rates have risen by more than 40% over the past decade. Akande leads Webster’s largest academic unit, responsible for 63%, or $136.8 million of the institution’s $220 million total tuition revenue.

Dr. Akande’s leadership hasn’t only featured growth in numbers, but in quality too. He has led the accreditation of the Walker School, the largest component of Webster, by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), resulting in the highest scoring possible by the official accrediting body for US-based universities—a first for Webster. And in instruction, the Dean has successfully focused on working with faculty and staff to elevate the quality of the classroom experience for students, helping all of the University’s teachers to improve their performance and enhance their satisfaction with their own academic careers.

Dean Akande leads a business academy that under his dynamic leadership is emphatically committed to global education, setting a distinguished standard worldwide. Webster’s growth has resulted in an expansion of campuses to more than 107 locations. Dr. Akande manages faculty and staff in the U.S. and on four European campuses, five locations in mainland China, two in Thailand, and one in Japan as well as others throughout the globe, encompassing responsibility for the largest portion of the University’s annual operating budget, while serving more than 14,000 students.

His high level of quality performance inspires robust financial contributions to Webster University. During his tenure there, Dr. Akande has been directly responsible for attracting and bringing in tens of millions of dollars during the University’s two general campaigns, as well as annually for specific programs at the Walker School including the endowment for the naming of the school itself. Akande contributed to the success of Webster Works, a public campaign launched in 2010, for which a total of $56.5 million was raised, greatly enhancing the educational experience of Webster’s students and the institution’s ability to further its mission.

As Webster University’s Chief of the Office of Corporate Partnerships, Dr. Akande has forged educational partnerships and alliances with such institutions and corporations as BJC HealthCare and Wal-Mart. He also has a successful record of collaboration with many of the companies in the St. Louis Regional Business Council, a consortium of Presidents and CEO’s of 100 of the area’s most important companies. In his outreach efforts to business Dean Akande serves on the boards of Rx Outreach, a non-profit organization with the goal of providing affordable medication to uninsured Americans; The Vandiver Group, a strategic communications firm offering consulting, public relations, branding, market research and information on sustainable practices for media companies.

Dr. Akande recently completed a six-year term as Trustee at Mary Institute Country Day School (MICDS), serving on the executive committee of the board and as Chair of the School’s Investment Committee. He is Vice-Chair of Beyond Housing, a nationally recognized provider of housing and support services for low-income families and homeowners in the St. Louis region. In November 2010, Dr Akande was named as a director of Ralcorp Corporation, a public traded company that is a manufacturer and processor of the nation’s largest high quality private label cereals, frozen foods, crackers, and nuts. He serves Ralcorp’s audit, governance, and compensation committees. He has recently been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Missouri Baptist Medical Center.

Akande also 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). A prolific writer and gifted motivational speaker, Dean Akande is regularly sought out as an economics and business commentator and pundit for television, with appearances on Anderson Cooper 360, CBS Evening News, and St. Louis affiliates of FOX, ABC, and NBC. His commentaries in USA TODAY and on public radio’s “Marketplace” have drawn attention to the credibility of the University.

Benjamin Akande has accomplished much for Webster University. He is well respected both among the University’s constituencies and in the wider community. His achievements are built upon a record of success that have helped the institution achieve real prominence in the educational world. Dean Akande is a visionary, dynamic, and entrepreneurial leader with a passion for excellence in higher education. He is a judicious risk taker who is responsive to all stakeholders and decisive in following a course once it’s been set. He relishes the possibilities that come when one dares to look beyond the horizon and believes passionately that the future belong to those who can see it.

Dean Akande is completing work on his first book, entitled The IPOD Generation: It’s Their World, We’re Just Living In It. The book provides insights into the up-and-coming Internet savvy, Phone-addicted, Opportunistic, Digitally-driven generation. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and three daughters, where he enjoys listening to jazz and rooting for his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.