UAMS Welcomes New Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA
| June 1, 2018 | Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, a renowned cardiologist and health care administrator, began today as chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the state’s only health sciences university.
Patterson comes to UAMS from Weill-Cornell Medical Center and Komansky Children’s Hospital/New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York, where he was senior vice president and chief operating officer since 2014.
He replaces Dan Rahn, M.D., who retired as chancellor July 31, 2017. Stephanie F. Gardner, Pharm.D., Ed.D., who had been serving as interim chancellor since that time, will continue as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at UAMS as she had before and during the transition.
“We are very fortunate to have identified Dr. Patterson and his strong skill set that will help lead UAMS into a very crucial period in its continued tradition of innovation and excellence,” said Donald. R. Bobbitt, Ph.D., president of the University of Arkansas System. “His experience in leading a very complex clinical enterprise and his varied background in clinical care, research and administrative leadership will complement and elevate the momentum already being generated there. I am thrilled to bring him into the UA System and I welcome him and his family to Arkansas.
“I am also extremely grateful to Dr. Gardner for her leadership and willingness to take on incredible challenges in her time as interim chancellor. She has proven herself to be an exceptional leader and an invaluable member of the UAMS leadership team.”
Patterson previously held numerous academic and clinical appointments at the University of North Carolina (UNC), including as physician-in-chief at the UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care and executive director of the UNC McAllister Heart Institute.
Over the course of his career, Patterson as principal investigator or co-investigator has received more than $60 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work has been published in 323 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Vanderbilt University, his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine and his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler School of Business.
His residency, including a year as chief resident, was conducted at Emory University Affiliated Hospitals. He was a research fellow at the Cardiovascular Biology Laboratory in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and a clinical fellow in cardiology at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Texas, where he joined the institution’s faculty in 1998.
His wife, Kristine Patterson, M.D., is an infectious disease specialist who is an expert in treating menopausal women with HIV. They have three children Celia, Anna and Graham.
Patterson was recommended by Bobbitt for the position to UAMS’ governing board, the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, which approved the appointment Jan. 3.
The search was conducted by Bobbitt and a campus advisory search committee, along with the help of Isaacson Miller, a contracted national search firm.
The search committee was chaired by Jeannette Shorey, M.D., associate provost for faculty and professor of internal medicine. It included representatives from campus faculty, administration and staff, supporters from across the state and a member of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###