Prof. G. O. Akinola’s Profile

Professor Grace Oluyemisi Akinola is a Professor in the Department of Business Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. She earned a B.Sc. Ed. (Mathematics), a PGD (Computer Science), an MBA, an M.Phil., and crowned them with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Business Administration from the OAU. She further earned a Master of Philosophy in Science and Technology Studies at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, with a specialization in Research Monitoring and Evaluation.

A prolific scholar, Prof. Akinola has published widely in reputable local and international journals and has successfully supervised over twenty postgraduate theses and doctoral dissertations. She is also an active mentor to undergraduate and professional master’s students. Her intellectual contributions and professional engagements have taken her to several international academic platforms across Africa and beyond including notable events such as the “School on the Mathematics of Economics” and the “Conference on the Mathematics of Economics” at ICTP, Trieste, Italy in 1998; the “Research Methodology Workshop” organized in OAU in collaboration with the Carnegie Corporation of New York (2008); the “Teaching the Practice of Management” workshop by the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) in Ghana (2009); the “Researching the Practice of Management” session at the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; as well as the “Scientific Communication and Publishing Course” at the University of Nairobi, Kenya (2011).

Her professional experience reflects both breadth and depth. She spent over a decade teaching Chemistry, Mathematics, and Further Mathematics at the senior secondary level in institutions such as Moremi High School, OAU, Ile-Ife, before joining the Department of Management and Accounting at OAU as an Assistant Lecturer in 1998. She rose steadily through the ranks and was appointed Professor in 2014. Over the course of her academic career, she has held several key administrative positions, including Chairperson of the Faculty of Administration Postgraduate Committee, Coordinator of a group at the Postgraduate Board overseeing multiple faculties, and Dean of Students’ Affairs. She also made history as the first female Head of the Department of Management and Accounting since its establishment in 1976, and as the first female Coordinator of the Executive MBA Programme.

Prof. Akinola is and was a member of numerous academic and professional bodies, including the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), the American Marketing Association (AMA), and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN). She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Business Administration and Knowledge Management (IBAKM).

She is married with children.