Camellia Okpodu

Camellia Moses Okpodu (born January 24, 1964 in Portsmouth, Virginia), is Professor of Biology and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA), New Orleans, LA. She was Professor (2003-2018) and former Chair of Biology (2003–2008) at Norfolk State University (NSU) and the 2007–2008 American Council of Education Fellow. She was the second director of the DIA-designated Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence at Norfolk State University. Dr. Okpodu has recently accepted the position of Dean of the College of Arts and science at the University of Wyoming, which will begin in July 2021.

Education and early life

Camellia Okpodu is a 1982 graduate from West Brunswick High School, Shallotte, North Carolina. She received both her undergraduate and Postgraduate education from North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina). She earned both a B.S. in Biochemistry (1987) and a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry (1994).

In 1984, Camellia became the first Black woman[1] to hold the title for Miss Brunswick County a preliminary scholarship pageant for Miss America. Although she enjoyed performance, she found as much joy in becoming a scientist.

Career

Okpodu joined NSU in August 2003 as the chair of the biology department. Under her leadership, the department developed a mission and vision statement that was focused on student experiential learning. Okpodu and the faculty revised the curriculum to provide opportunities that enhanced biology student’s skills in critical thinking through the analysis of scientific data, skills in basic research methods and reporting.

Before joining NSU, Okpodu was the Marshall Rauch Distinguished Professor at Elizabeth City State University (Elizabeth City, North Carolina). She has more than six years as an administrator and over 12 years of experience as a program director. She has worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Tech. Her career has included directorship of many different types of pure science and science education projects funded by NIH, NSF, NRO and NASA. Okpodu has served as an educational consultant to governmental agencies, private foundations, public school divisions, and institutions of higher learning.

Okpodu improved existing graduate courses in biology education and worked with the computer science department at NSU to offer an emphasis in computational biology or bioinformatics. Using NASA funding via the Center of Microgravity and Environmental Biology (recently renamed the Group for Microgravity and Environmental Biology), she supported a graduate student in the computer science department, who helped to develop a protein database for mapping stress proteins.

July 1, 2018 Okpodu was appointed the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana.

References
  1. Rimm, Sylvia. See Jane Win for Girls (EasyRead Edition).
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