Arcelia M. Johnson-Fannin, Pharm.D, R.Ph.
Founding Dean
Dr. Arcelia Johnson-Fannin is the founding dean of the Feik School of Pharmacy at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio Texas. With this appointment, Dr. Johnson-Fannin became the first woman and only black female to be founding dean at two new pharmacy schools. In 1997, Dr. Johnson-Fannin was selected to head the development of the pharmacy program at Hampton University in Virginia.
Dr. Johnson-Fannin began her academic career at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in the School of Pharmacy, where she helped develop the clinical pharmacy program and create the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. She became the first Director of the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Program at FAMU, and in 1980, she and her colleagues were the guiding force that gave FAMU its first doctoral-trained graduates. During this time, Dr. Johnson-Fannin and her students became involved in what would later be called “health disparities” research. The research they performed in the early 1980s was rejected for publication, deemed “biased” because of the race of the researchers.
Dr. Johnson-Fannin and her colleagues have received significant funding for research in health disparities and other health related arenas. Over the past seven years, she has received grants from The Lilly Foundation, The Kellogg Foundation, NIH, and the Department of Education, totaling more than $6,500,000.
Dr. Johnson-Fannin has carried her talent for teaching and program development into a variety of venues. She taught in a developing medical school for women in Saudi Arabia, and she helped develop educational programs for foreign physicians at a large state hospital in Florida. She was also a member of the NAPLEX committee that took the pharmacy licensing exam from paper to electronic format.
Dr. Johnson-Fannin received a B.S. in Chemistry, Dillard University; a B.S. degree in Pharmacy, Columbia University; and Pharm.D., Mercer University.
In 1999, Dr. Johnson-Fannin was designated one of the 50 most influential pharmacists in America. In addition to numerous other awards and recognitions, Dr. Johnson-Fannin is active in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Pharmacist Association, American Society of Health System Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacists, and the National Pharmacist Association. She is involved with the community through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Jack and Jill, Inc., and she has served on many professional and community boards.
Affectionately known as “Dr. J”, Dr. Johnson-Fannin is married to Dr. Larry Fannin. The couple has two children: Ehriel and Marshall.
