In 2015, the board of trustees of Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, named Benjamin Akande as the educational institution’s 21st president. Now just two years later, Dr. Akande abruptly resigned from the post. In a statement that praised the accomplishments of Dr. Akande, the college said that he left “in order to pursue other interests in higher education and new endeavors in the private sector.” He was the only Black scholar to serve as president of the college.
Westminster College, which was founded 164 years ago, enrolls about 900 undergraduate students. Blacks make up 7 percent of the student body. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Akande is a Nigerian-born American citizen. Before being named president of Westminster College, he had been serving as a professor of economics and dean of the School of Business and Technology at Webster University in St. Louis.
Dr. Akande came to the United States to study at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in business administration, Dr. Akande went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oklahoma.
