College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dean Mark Leid stepping down

Mark Leid will be stepping down from his role as dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on June 30, 2025, at the completion of his five-yearterm. He will continue to serve as professor of pharmacology in the college's Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

"I am grateful for Dr. Leid's innovative vision and steadfast leadership over the past five years," said Executive Vice President Daryll DeWald. "His dedication to both WSU and the health of those within Washington's rural and underserved communities has propelled the college toward a bright future."

The Office of the Executive Vice President of WSU Health Sciences will engage in a search for Leid's replacement, beginning with listening sessions from now through February. Additional details will be shared in the coming weeks.

A graduate of WSU, Leid assumed the role of dean in July of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19pandemic. He successfully navigated the college through an intensive re-accreditation process and, thanks to a significant philanthropic gift, supported the launch of the college's Rural Health Initiative (RHI), which currently provides training in rural healthcare for 13 PharmD students. Next year, RHI will expand to include several PGY1 residents, enhancing care for medically underserved communities statewide.

Despite a national downturn in pharmacy school applications in the wake of the pandemic, Leid worked closely with the recruitment and admissions teams to boost enrollment and retention, including reducing non-resident tuition to attract out-of-state students and increasing scholarships to ease the financial burden for entering pharmacy students. He also established joint pathway programs with WSU's Department of Psychology and the Honors College and oversaw the launch of the Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences program.

Leid graduated from WSU in 1983. Growing up in the small farming town of Waitsburg, Washington, Leid's vision and mission for the college are integrally tied to his upbringing in a rural community. After receiving his degree, he spent two years practicing in community and hospital pharmacy in Walla Walla, Washington, before entering graduate school at Oregon State University. Leid received a PhD in pharmacology from OSU, then spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Eucaryotes in Strasbourg, France. He returned to OSU as a professor and administrator, including interim dean, for over 27 years before returning to WSU as dean.