Blake Williams Wins UAMS Marvin Award

By ChaseYavondaC

UAMS medical student Blake Williams received the Dr. Horace N. Marvin Award from Cynthia J.M. Kane, Ph.D., at Marvin’s bust (center) in the UAMS Library.
UAMS medical student Blake Williams received the Dr. Horace N. Marvin Award from Cynthia J.M. Kane, Ph.D., at Marvin’s bust (center) in the UAMS Library.
The Dr. Horace N. Marvin Award ceremony was attended by Blake Williams’ parents, Cindy and Doyle Williams of Little Rock.
The Dr. Horace N. Marvin Award ceremony was attended by Blake Williams’ parents, Cindy and Doyle Williams of Little Rock. 

May 29, 2009| Blake Williams, of Little Rock, has won the Dr. Horace N. Marvin Award for achieving the highest numerical score in his freshman medical microscopic anatomy course at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock.

The award, recognizing Marvin’s 43 years at UAMS as a dedicated educator, researcher and campus leader, was presented to Williams in a May 7 ceremony at Marvin’s bust in the UAMS Library. The award includes a $500 honorarium and was presented by Cynthia J.M. Kane, Ph.D., professor and course director of medical microscopic anatomy in the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences in the UAMS College of Medicine.

Williams, who is completing his first year of medical school this spring, also received a certificate, and his name was added to the Marvin Award memorial plaque adjacent to Marvin’s bust. The ceremony was attended by his parents, Doyle and Cindy Williams, and longtime friends Khalil Ibrahim and Wes Greer.

The Marvin award was established with anonymous donations in 1985, the year Marvin retired. He was course director of medical microscopic anatomy and was chair of the Department of Anatomy from 1958-1967, after which he served as associate dean for Academic Affairs.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a new 540,000-square-foot hospital, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,652 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.