Vassilios Papadopoulos, dean of the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, received the 2025 Outstanding Dean Award at the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting & Exposition in Nashville on Friday, March 21.
The national award, presented since 2004, recognizes one dean out of the 142 U.S. pharmacy schools each year who has promoted “with distinction the welfare of student pharmacists through various community service, leadership and professional activities.”
Student leaders, along with alumni and members of the faculty, wrote detailed letters of nomination describing why they felt Papadopoulos is deserving of the honor.
“What sets Dean Papadopoulos apart is his genuine, personal approach to mentorship and support,” wrote Pooja Singh, BS ’20, PharmD ’24, who served as president of the PharmD Class of 2024. “His open-door policy, his willingness to engage with students on a one-on-one basis, and his genuine care for our success have made a lasting impact.”
Fourth-year PharmD student Soumar Haddad wrote about “his approachability and willingness to engage with students on a personal level” and added that he has created “an extraordinary environment for our school that empowers students to be heard, encourages creativity, and fosters our growth.”
Other nominators noted the school’s unveiling of the Margaret and John Biles Leadership Center, its hiring of the school’s first full-time wellness counselor and its investments in scholarships as examples of Papadopoulos’ support for PharmD students.
They acknowledged Papadopoulos’ national thought leadership on behalf of the pharmacy profession and his support of the Operation Immunization project, which in 2021 enabled USC students, staff, faculty and alumni to play a key role in the COVID-19 mass vaccination efforts in the city of Los Angeles.
During Papadopoulos’ tenure as dean, total enrollment at the School has increased by more than 30 percent with the introduction of an undergraduate program and several new master’s degree programs. In 2022, the school received a $50 million endowment and naming gift, the largest ever to a pharmacy school in California.
Papadopoulos, who has served as dean since 2016, said the honor reflects the school’s deep commitment to its mission of advancing health through excellence in pharmacy education.
“Schools and universities do not run alone – it takes the commitment of faculty, students, staff and alumni,” Papadopoulos says. “This recognition is a reflection of the work of all these people who lead us to excellence.”
