![](https://innovations.unm.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/godwin-donald-headshot-2024-square-292x300.jpg)
Dean & Professor
University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy
University of New Mexico Health Sciences
Education
B.A. – Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Ph.D. – Pharmaceutics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Business/Research Background
Dr. Godwin received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Delaware in 1991 and continued his education in at the University of South Carolina where he earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics in August 1996 focusing on transdermal drug delivery.
He immediately began his career at the University of New Mexico in October 1996 accepting a position as an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics and began to rise through the ranks. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics with tenure in July 2002 while focusing on skin cancer prevention through the enhancement of skin retention of UV absorbers.
Dr. Godwin then switched career tracks to academic administration as Interim Assistant Dean of Student Affairs in February 2003 before being appointed Assistant for Professional Education in January 2004. In November 2007, Dr. Godwin was promoted to Associate Dean for Professional and Graduate Education and served as Interim Dean of the College from July 2010 through December 2011. He served as Executive Associate Dean for Education from 2012 through 2017 where he had overall responsibility for all aspects of education (didactic and laboratory curriculum, experiential education, and student services) for PharmD, MS, and PhD students. In 2017, he took on the role of Interim Dean for a second time and was selected as Dean in April 2018
Among Dr. Godwin’s administrative accomplishments are developing and implementing the UNM/NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy Program, securing two tuition differentials to increase funding the PharmD program, facilitating the development and implementation of two PharmD curricular revisions, leading two successful ACPE accreditation efforts, and initiating and facilitating the reactivation of the COP’s commercial radiopharmacy program and the expansion of clinical initiatives.
Particular Knowledge and Skills
Dr. Godwin also maintains a significant teaching responsibility in dosage forms, pharmacokinetics, and pharmaceutical calculations. His current research interests lie in area of innovative programs to enhance student progression and graduation rates in a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. Recent work has been done on curricular changes to improve the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of pharmacy students.