President Angela Franklin

President Angela L. Walker Franklin

Prior to her role at Meharry, Dr. Franklin held several positions at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, including vice dean, associate vice president for academic and student affairs, associate dean for student affairs, director of counseling services and assistant professor of psychiatry.

A former American Council on Education Fellow (2001-02), Dr. Franklin is also a 2004 protégé of the Millennium Leadership Institute which is sponsored by the Association of State Colleges and Universities in preparing the next generation of leaders in higher education. She also participated in the 2008 Prospective President’s Workshop of the United Methodist Church Affiliated Schools.

Since becoming the 15th President of Des Moines University, Dr. Franklin has published the university history entitled, “Now is the Time, Des Moines is the Place” which chronicles a 100+ year history of training health care professionals. She has established institutional goals and priorities for the future and in December 2018, launched Purple and Proud, a $25 million dollar fund raising campaign which was surpassed a year later. With the transformative vision to build an entirely new campus on 88 acres of land purchased in West Des Moines, the campaign continues with fundraising efforts focused on the new campus. Dr. Franklin is leading the effort to plan and design the new campus which is anticipated to open in summer 2023 coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the founding of the university.

Dr. Franklin is actively involved in the Des Moines Community, serving on the boards of Bankers Trust, The Greater Des Moines Partnership and The Harkin National Advisory Council. She is also Chair of the Assembly of Presidents of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and was recently asked to serve on the AACOM Adaptive Work Group Addressing Racism in Healthcare and the George Washington Carver Statuary Hall Project. In addition, Dr. Franklin is a former board member of the nationally recognized Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), United Way of Central Iowa, and the Science Center of Iowa. Former chair roles held by Dr. Franklin include chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Workforce Development/Education Board, chair of the United Way Health Cabinet, chair of the American Heart Association “Go Red for Women” movement, chair for the 2015 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, as well as chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Community Health Needs Assessment/Mental Health Workgroup.

Awards she has received include: 2017 American Psychological Association Training Advisory Committee Special Award, 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from the Iowa Department of Human Rights, the 2015 Mary McLeod Bethune Award (Educator of the Year) from the Iowa Juneteenth Observance Committee, the 2014 Women of Influence Award from the Des Moines Business Record, the 2014 Inspire Award from Dress for Success, and the 2013 African American History Maker Award from the African American Museum of Iowa.

Dr. Franklin is an inspirational leader and author of her 2014 published memoir, “An Unconventional Journey… An Unlikely Choice,” which chronicles her journey to the college presidency and lessons learned in leadership. Dr. Franklin has been featured in several local and national publications and speaks locally and around the country on the topics of women leaders, transformative leadership, and building a culturally competent and diverse workforce.