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Past UAMS Chancellors and Administrators I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., is the third University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) chancellor. Prior to 1975, when James L. Dennis, M.D., became the institution’s first chancellor, the executive officer of the institution was known as the vice president for health sciences or the vice president for medical education and hospitals. H. Clay Chenault, M.D., was the first to carry the title of vice president for medical education and hospitals when he reorganized the campus’ administrative structure in 1946-1947. Chenault also served as the dean of the College of Medicine, the job that also carried executive responsibility for the campus and its educational and patient care divisions prior to 1946, stretching back to the creation of the medical school in 1879. Click here for more on the history of UAMS. Previous Chancellors
Harry P. Ward, M.D. (1979-2000) – Harry Ward is credited with leading UAMS’ transformation from a small medical school with a charity hospital to an academic health center and research leader. During 21 years as UAMS chancellor, Ward saw student enrollment nearly double as each college and the area health education centers expanded their education programs. Ward’s tenure as chancellor also saw new facilities and financial support that allowed UAMS to build on its ability to deliver patient care, provide health care education and support groundbreaking research. External research funding during this period grew from about $4 million in 1979 to more than $76 million in 2000. His focus on developing research at UAMS included seeking legislative approval for a mixed drink tax that supported construction of the Biomedical Research Center. Ward was named UAMS chancellor in 1979 after previously serving as professor and dean of the University of Colorado College of Medicine. Since his retirement as chancellor in 2000, he continues to serve as chancellor emeritus. The hospital’s Harry P. Ward Tower is named for him.
James L. Dennis, M.D. (1970-1979) – James Dennis was appointed vice president for health sciences at UAMS in 1970, when the Little Rock campus was still known as the University of Arkansas Medical Center (UAMC). He championed the concept of a “university without walls” that stretched health information and education beyond the campus. Dennis and then School of Medicine Dean Winston Shorey received legislative approval in 1973 to launch the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) to help address the deficit in primary care facilities around the state. His tenure also was marked by growth that saw new educational and clinical facilities built on campus. A major hospital renovation transformed the facility from a charity hospital to a center capable of competing for private pay patients. He became the first chancellor in 1975 during a series of name changes that saw the institution renamed the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Campus and all of the campuses schools become colleges. Named for the first chancellor, the James L. Dennis Developmental Center is operated by the Department of Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine and provides clinical services to developmentally disabled children.
Vice President for Medical Education and Hospitals (1946-1970) Storm Whaley (1960-1970) Dean and Vice President for the School of Medicine (1879-1946) Byron L. Robinson (1941-1946)
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