Abdullah appointed provost of Bethune-Cookman

Former FAMU Dean Makola M. Abdullah has received another promotion. He is now the chief academic officer of Florida’s largest private historically black university.

Last month, Edison O. Jackson, the new president of Bethune-Cookman University, hired Abdullah to serve as the school’s provost and vice-president for academic affairs.

Abdullah spent 15 years at FAMU and raised more than $27 million in grant dollars during that time. The agencies that sponsored his research projects included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

As a FAMU faculty member, Abdullah also held a number of administrative leadership positions, including: associate vice-president for research (2005-2007), director of land grant programs (2008-2011), and dean of the College of Engineering Sciences, Technology, and Agriculture (2008-2011). He additionally chaired FAMU’s Tenure and Promotion Committee and SACS Federal Mandates Committee.

Abdullah began teaching at FAMU in 1996 as an assistant professor of engineering technology. In 1998, he joined the faculty of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and taught civil engineering. He became a tenured associate professor in 2002 and a full professor in 2007.  

He left FAMU in 2011 to serve as the provost of Florida Memorial University in Miami, serving under former FAMU Pharmacy Dean Henry Lewis, III.

Abdullah earned his B.S. in civil engineering from Howard University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Northwestern University.