Educational Attainment and Academic Profile of Deans and Chairs at US Pharmacy Schools.

Objective. To characterize educational attainment and experiences of current US pharmacy school deans and chairs. Methods. A cross-sectional study using a publicly available listing of accredited schools and information. Results. Among 134 deans and 301 chairs, 79.9% and 65.5% held a professional degree (BSPharm and/or PharmD), 33.6% and 26.2% completed PGY-1 residencies, 12.7% and 15.6% completed post-PharmD fellowships, 23.1% and 33.9% completed post-doctoral fellowships, and 13.4% and 18.3% held BPS certification, respectively. Fewer than 1 in 5 were employed at an alma mater. Ninety (20.7%) deans and chairs completed AACP's Academic Leadership Fellows Program. Average current tenure was 5.7 and 5.1 years for deans and chairs, respectively. Conclusion. The majority of deans and chairs held a pharmacy professional degree and the prevalence of post-graduate educational and leadership training is increasing. Future research should apply mixed methods to investigate educational attainment and employment experience of deans and chairs, institutional hiring trends, and how these characteristics compare between newer and established programs.