By Timothy G. Nutt
The search for a new chancellor for UAMS is currently underway. When the name of the successful candidate is announced, that person will become the institution’s sixth Chancellor, not counting those who held the position in an interim capacity. We have had an extraordinary number of leaders, throughout our history, who have guided UAMS through tough times and even tougher times. Some of those leaders were called Dean of the Medical Department, or Administrators, or Vice-Presidents. Today, we know the leader of UAMS as chancellor, but it was not until the mid-1970s that UAMS became its own entity, separate from the main campus of the University of Arkansas when that title came into use.
When the predecessor of UAMS was founded in 1879, it was a proprietary medical school. Despite the medical school being named Arkansas Industrial University (later University of Arkansas) Department of Medicine in its early history, the institution did not have any formal association with the University. After the scathing evaluation of the school in the 1910 Flexner Report in which the school was noted as having not a “single redeeming feature”, the Arkansas Legislature approved the absorption of the proprietary Department of Medicine into the University of Arkansas. After thirty-two years of existence, the medical school was finally an official department of the U of A. Before and after its merger into the University of Arkansas, the medical department was led by a Dean or Chief Administrator. This title changed in 1946 and paved the way for the medical school’s rejuvenation, independence and its own chancellor later.
For the most part after 1911, University of Arkansas officials, including its President and the Board of Trustees, paid scant attention to the financial affairs or reputation of the Department of Medicine. Unsurprisingly, the lack of oversight led to consistent budget deficits and low morale, leaving the medical school teetering on collapse for decades. In 1946, though, the Board of Trustees appointed Dr. H. Clay Chenault to oversee the medical school, a decision that would transform the school from a mostly neglected afterthought into a vital component of the state’s educational, medical, and economic engine. With Dr. Chenault’s appointment came a new title: Vice President for Medical Education and Hospitals. This change signified the evolution of perspective that the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees held toward the medical school.
Dr. Chenault, by all accounts, was the perfect person to lead the medical school. A native of England, Arkansas, Chenault was also an alumnus of the medical school, receiving his degree in 1927. After a stint in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and leading the Air Force Regional and Convalescent Hospital in Miami, Florida, Dr. Chenault returned to Arkansas. His appointment as Vice President for Medical Education and Hospitals was the first time in nearly twenty-years that a native Arkansan oversaw the medical school. Under Chenault’s leadership, the relationship between university officials in Little Rock and Fayetteville greatly improved, as did the morale of the medical school faculty. With Dr. Chenault’s guidance, the medical school entered its modern era, setting the stage for the future expansion and growth.
By the 1970s, the medical school had undergone a massive transformation. The school had moved into new facilities on West Markham Street in the 1950s. Funded by a cigarette tax, the campus was modern in every sense and included a hospital, the first time in its history that the medical school operated its own hospital for clinical practice. Attitudes about how the medical school should operate also evolved. In the early 1970s, a shift occurred in the state and national conversations that focused on rural health care and the education of general practitioners, instead of a focus on urban centers and graduating specialists. Dr. James L. Dennis was appointed Vice President of Health Sciences for the University of Arkansas in 1970. Described as “mild-mannered, witty, and profound,” Dr. Dennis worked easily with other U of A administrators, the medical school faculty, and politicians. He was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and later served his alma mater as dean. From 1962-1964, Dr. Dennis was on the pediatrics faculty at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine.
To address the new need for rural health care, Dr. Dennis worked with Gov. Dale Bumpers and the state legislature to strengthen the family residency program and to establish at least five Area Health Education Centers (AHEC). The AHEC facilities were truly a hallmark of Dr. Dennis’ tenure. Along with College of Medicine Dean Winston Shorey, the Area Health Education Centers around the state truly changed the scope of the medical school and transformed it from a Little Rock institution to a statewide entity.
The concept of the AHEC plan was simple. Utilizing established practicing physicians as educators and local hospitals as teaching facilities, senior medical students and residents would train in community settings, thus increasing the chances of them choosing to become primary care providers. This goal epitomized Dr. Dennis’ belief that the medical school should be an institution “without walls.” The local AHECs in El Dorado, Fort Smith and Pine Bluff (and later in Jonesboro, Fayetteville, Texarkana, Batesville, and Helena) proved to be so popular, that for 1977-1978, senior students were choosing elective rotations at the various centers. Now known as UAMS Regional Campuses, these facilities provide much needed training, education, and engagement in local communities around the state.
kl Because the strides and accomplishments of the medical school under the leadership of Dr. Dennis, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees with the full support of UA President Charles Bishop, changed the name of the medical center to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1975. Simultaneously, Dr. Dennis’ title was changed to Chancellor, a position he held until 1979. Since then, successive chancellors (Drs. Ward, Wilson, Rahn, and Patterson) have led UAMS through the valleys and peaks, each securing their own legacies of success. While Interim Chancellors do not usually receive the recognition in leading UAMS in times of transition, they, too, deserve credit in moving the institution ever forward and ever progressing.
Throughout UAMS’ nearly 150-year history, there have been numerous instances when the institution was in dire straits. Even as late as the 1950s, some state legislators questioned the usefulness and need for a medical school, but those who filled the top position of what is now called Chancellor over the years ensured that UAMS would remain and thrive. As we wait for the announcement of a new chancellor, it is good to look back and see how far UAMS has come under its past leaders and look forward to where UAMS can go.
Timothy G. Nutt is the Director of the UAMS Historical Research Center.