Dr. Giuseppe Gumina Named New Dean of Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy

February 27, 2023

Presbyterian College announced Friday that Dr. Giuseppe Gumina has been named the new dean of the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy.

Gumina, currently a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences at PCSP, prevailed in a highly competitive national search, said PC president Dr. Matthew vandenBerg.

“Dr. Gumina’s dedication to the PC School of Pharmacy and his status as a champion of our students make him an excellent choice as the graduate program’s new dean,” vandenBerg said. “He is a terrific teacher, a skilled strategist and administrator, and a gifted scholar, and we are fortunate for his leadership.”

PC provost Dr. Kerry Pennell said Gumina is an inspiration on the pharmacy school campus.

“Dr. Gumina is a brilliant educator,” she said. “He can light up a room with stories about science and medicine. As a long-standing faculty member at PCSP, he will be an outstanding dean for the school.”

Gumina joined the PC School of Pharmacy faculty in July 2013 as an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. He earned tenure in July 2018 and was promoted to professor in 2019.

Before coming to PC, he taught at South University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and Georgia Southern University. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in medicinal chemistry at the University of Catania in Italy and conducted postgraduate research at the University of Georgia.

Gumina has taught undergraduate and graduate programs extensively in subjects ranging from undergraduate general and organic chemistry to medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, pathophysiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, bioorganic chemistry, carbohydrate and nucleoside chemistry, and drug discovery.

His research focuses on the design and synthesis of nucleoside analogs as antimicrobial, antiviral, and cardioprotective agents. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and holds three patents.

Gumina has held leadership positions in the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. He is an AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program graduate and a National Coalition Building Institute trainer.

“I am honored and excited for the opportunity to serve as the next dean of Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy,” Gumina said. “For the past nine years, I have had the privilege to see our program grow and our graduates achieve outstanding outcomes, from several highest NAPLEX pass rates in the state, to our most recent, ninth-in-the-nation, residency match rate.  As we prepare to celebrate our tenth graduating class, I am thankful to be part of our family of talented students and exceptional colleagues, and I look forward to continuing to grow together as one of the premier pharmacy programs in the nation.”

President vandenBerg thanked members of the Pharmacy School Dean Search Committee for their service to PC. They include:

  • Holbrook Raynal ’70 – trustee
  • Jimmy Sain ’75 – trustee
  • Kayce Shealy – faculty
  • Serge Afeli – faculty
  • Tiffaney Threatt – faculty
  • Talisha Ratliff – faculty
  • Christopher Farrell – faculty
  • Mike Rischbieter – faculty
  • Joe Weber, former director of the PC Physician Assistant program
  • Anthony Esposito – PCSP student