Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede [BSc Hons, BChD (Ife), MPH (Lagos), PhD (UWC), DDPH RCS (England), FFD RCS (Ireland), FICD, FNCS, FNAMed] served as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife from June 7, 2017 to June 6, 2022. He obtained his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Health Sciences in 1981, following it up with the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BChD) in 1985 at Obafemi Awolowo University (then University of Ife). He obtained the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in 1989 from the University of Lagos before proceeding to the UK where he obtained a Dental Diploma in Public Health from the Royal College of Surgeons, England, in 1992. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. He is also a Foundation Fellow and a member of Council of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.
He joined the services of OAU, Ile-Ife, Nigeria as a Medical Training Fellow in March 1987 in the Faculty of Dentistry, where he rose to become a professor in the year 2000. Professor Ogunbodede served as Head of Department for 12 academic sessions between 1989 and 2007. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry from 1999 to 2002. He was Provost of the College of Health Sciences, OAU from 2007 to 2009. Professor Ogunbodede was elected an internal member of the Governing Council of OAU from 2009 to 2011. He was a member of the Governing Board of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, from 2007 to 2009. Professor Ogunbodede was Visiting Professor, Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, USA from May 2012 to April 2013. He was also Honorary Visiting Professor to the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, from 2000 to 2010. He envisioned and set up the DEMA Foundation Dental Museum, the first Dental Museum in Africa and the first specialised Museum in Nigeria, commissioned on September 18, 2015 in Ile-Ife. He also established the Community Dental Clinic at Ipetumodu in Ife North Local Government Area which is the first dental clinic to be established under a Local Government Council in Nigeria.
An accomplished academic, Professor Ogunbodede has published over 100 full-length peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, 4 books, contributed 3 chapters to books, 5 monographs, and over 50 Conference abstracts. He is the author of The History of Dentistry in Nigeria (2015), Fifty years of the deviant “Ïfe Philosophy” in health sciences education (1972-2022). An historic perspective, and lead Editor of the book Great Ife at 60. Advancing the Frontiers of Knowledge and Culture (1961-2021) published in 2022. Professor Ogunbodede was Convener and Foundation President of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Nigerian Division, President of the African and Middle East Region for 3 years and Member of the International Council of the Association (IADR) from 2014 to 2017. He has attended over 150 scientific conferences and personally presented papers at over 40 of such conferences. He has also led many outstanding Research projects within and outside OAU. Professor Ogunbodede was the visioner and Foundation Editor-in-Chief of the African Journal of Oral Health (AJOH). He is a reviewer for many professional journals and serves on the Editorial boards of 4 leading international dental journals and 5 national journals. He has held positions in numerous professional organizations and academic establishments in various parts of the world and has won many distinctions and awards. He is married with children.