Harper Named Vice Chair for Education at UAMS Jones Eye Institute

By Nate Hinkel

Harper will coordinate the educational activities within the Department of Ophthalmology, which includes residents, medical students and ophthalmic medical technology undergraduates. He also will direct community and graduate education support by the JEI faculty and will continue as a tenured professor of ophthalmology, residency program director, and director of the Low Vision Clinic.

“The creation of this new position will lead to a better experience for all who look to JEI for education,” said Christopher Westfall, M.D., director and chair of JEI.

Harper, who received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and completed his residency at UAMS, is nationally known for his innovative work in educating residents and has guided the residency program to become one of the
most sought-after programs in the South. In 2008, Harper was invested with the Charles Hartzell Lutterloh and Charles M. Lutterloh Medical Education Excellence Professorship. In 2009, he was invested with the Sally McSpadden Boreham Chair in Ophthalmology.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 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.