Pharmacologist Rae Matsumoto named new dean of UH Hilo pharmacy college
Coming to UH Hilo from University of the Pacific, Rae Matsumoto has founded numerous graduate and research training programs and is a strong advocate for community outreach.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin has announced the appointment of Rae Matsumoto as permanent dean of the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, effective Nov. 16, 2023. The UH Board of Regents was notified of the appointment at their Oct. 19 meeting.
“I am excited to have Dr. Matsumoto join the UH Hilo leadership team,” says Irwin. “She brings a wide variety of experience to the position and is prepared to lead the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy forward.”
Matsumoto replaces Miriam Mobley Smith who has served as interim dean since early 2022.
“I am grateful for all of the good work of Interim Dean Mobley Smith over the last year and a half to prepare the college for the new incoming leadership and a bright future,” says Irwin.
Matsumoto is currently a professor of physiology and pharmacology at the University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton, CA, a position she has held since 2022. Prior to that, she has held various administrative and faculty positions, including dean and professor of the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy at UOP from 2020 to 2022, dean and professor of the College of Pharmacy at Touro University California, Vallejo, CA, from 2014 to 2020, and associate dean for research and graduate programs and professor at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, from 2007 to 2014.
Matsumoto has vast educational program development experience, including faculty mentoring, staff development, student success and career development, and budgetary and fiscal management. She founded numerous graduate and research training programs, and is a strong advocate for community outreach programs.
She is the lead author or co-author of over 100 publications, a member of national and international professional organizations, and inventor of multiple patents.
Matsumoto received her bachelor of science magna cum laude from Creighton University, Omaha, NE, and her master of science and doctor of philosophy from Brown University in Providence, RI.
