Brian Cotten to Lead UAMS Campus Operations

By ChaseYavondaC

Cotten now serves as the UAMS Medical Center’s administrator for support services and is responsible for managing the performance of core hospital services including clinical engineering, patient transport, food and nutrition services, hospitality and building management. He oversees a staff of about 700 people and a $32 million budget.

“Brian has a long and successful history with UAMS,” said Bill Bowes, senior vice chancellor for finance and administration and chief financial officer. “His previous experience in managing the UAMS Medical Center, as well as his efforts in UAMS Campus Operations will serve him well in this new role.”

Cotten was executive director of design and construction at UAMS for 12 years. He was responsible for all planning, design, construction and renovation projects for the university and UAMS Medical Center. His tenure consisted of more than $700 million in projects and 1.5 million square feet of expansion, including the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, expansion of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the I. Dodd Wilson Education Building, patient tower, residence hall, parking deck and power plant.

Cotten has extensive experience in plant operations, including six years as assistant director and associate director of the UAMS Physical Plant. He also worked as a plant engineer and design engineer at Arkansas Power and Light in Hot Springs, and spent eight years as director of plant operations at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs.

Cotten earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1984. He is a member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineering and the Arkansas Association of Healthcare Engineering.

He is a former appointee to the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code Review Committee. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Cotten to the Arkansas Fire Protection Licensing Board in 2014.

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.

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