Benjamin Akande

Benjamin Ola Akande is an American academic and professor. He was named the 9th President of Champlain College www.champlain.edu in Burlington, Vermont on April 21, 2020 which will be effective as of July 1, 2020. From April 2018 to April 2020 he served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Programs-Africa, Director of the Africa Initiative, and Associate Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the former 21st president of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Prior to Westminster, he served for 15 years as dean of the Webster University George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology. Before that, at Wayland Baptist University, he was appointed Chief Academic Officer and Chair, Division of Business Administration. Throughout his career, he has consulted with Fortune 500 companies and private enterprise. He is recognized as a media spokesperson on topics such as leadership, economics, and entrepreneurship. He is a national speaker on topics related to leadership and economics.

On April 21, 2020 Dr. Akande was named the 9th President of Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont which will be effective as of July 1, 2020.

In April 2018 he became Assistant Vice Chancellor of International Programs-Africa, Director of the Africa Initiative, and Associate Director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Akande also chaired Washington University's International Travel Oversight Committee (ITOC).

· The Churchill Medal of Leadership, Westminster College, April 2017

From 2015 to 2017, he served as the first black president of Westminster College.

· Webster University Presidential citation for contribution to institutional mission — Conception of the Energizer Global Staff exchange program, 2005

· The Clayton Chamber of Commerce Pillar of the Community Award, 2012

· St. Louis Magazine Power List: The 100 People Who Are Shaping St. Louis, 2012

· Ingram's Kansas City Business Magazine: 50 Missourians You Should Know, 2012

• Akande, B., Kourik, J., Maher, P., “Managing the Demands of Accreditation; The Impact of Global Business Schools,” Research in Higher Education Journal (Volume 14, October 2011).

· The 100 top public and private board prospects - selected by a panel that includes senior managers from top executive search firms, former U.S. ambassadors, investor advocates, with the top 100 meeting the following criteria: demonstrated expertise in the far corners of the globe, legal and regulatory expertise, managing global divisions at public companies, and highly accomplished academics, Financial Times & Agenda International, 2011

• Akande, B., “The Web-Savvy Generation,” Financial Times (April 5, 2009).

· Distinguished Alumni of the Year, Wayland Baptist University, 2008

· Most Influential St. Louisan, St. Louis Business Journal, 2007–2012

· Recognized by St. Louis Business Journal as one of their Most Influential Diverse Leaders, 2007

· Webster University Presidential citation for creative leadership in bringing top-flight business leaders and opinion makers to the campuses of Webster University's Success to Significance speaker series, 2007

· Recognized as one of the 40 under 40 Distinguished Leaders in the Greater St. Louis Region, 2002

In 2000, Akande was appointed as professor of economics and dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University, and Webster University's Chief of the Office of Corporate Partnerships where he was instrumental in developing and nurturing many corporate and donor partnerships.

In 1995, Akande was appointed Chief Academic Officer and Chair, Division of Business Administration, at Wayland Baptist University. He also served as Special Assistant to the President.

Benjamin Ola Akande was born in Nigeria in 1962. His father, a renowned Baptist Minister, Rev. Dr. Samuel Ola. Akande and mother, Comfort Olalonpe, set high standards for him and his four sisters and encouraged them to aim high. He attended Comprehensive High School,Aiyetoro in Ogun State, Nigeria, graduating in 1978. He moved to the United States to further his education in 1979 and earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Wayland Baptist University. He proceeded to the University of Oklahoma where he completed master's degrees in Economics and Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Economics. He also completed post-doctoral courses at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Saïd School of Business at Oxford University.