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McElfish Named Vice Chancellor for UAMS Northwest Campus
| Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., has been promoted to vice chancellor of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). McElfish has been serving as associate vice chancellor since Peter Kohler, M.D., retired as vice chancellor in 2016.
As vice chancellor, McElfish will lead all campus-wide efforts, provide leadership to ensure coordination across all UAMS programs in the region and work closely with area partners. “Pearl McElfish has certainly proven herself worthy of this position over the last few years as associate vice chancellor,” said UAMS chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “She is a visionary leader, and we are extremely fortunate to have her leading our efforts to take health care in northwest Arkansas to new heights. I am confident that she will continue to provide the stellar level of leadership we have seen in her other roles with UAMS.”
McElfish joined UAMS in 2010 as the study director of the National Children’s Study for the Department of Pediatrics. In 2012, she was named the founding director of the Office of Community Health and Research. Then in 2015, she founded the Center for Pacific Islander Health, the first center in the United States that focuses solely on Pacific Islander health issues.
Prior to joining UAMS, McElfish worked for various community health organizations, improving efficiency and quality of care and developing strong, sustainability research and community health programs.
She holds a doctorate of philosophy in public policy from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, a master’s degree in community and economic development from the University of Central Arkansas, a master’s degree in business administration from John Brown University and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Arkansas Tech University.
“I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” McElfish said. “Since being established in 2007, the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus has been instrumental in meeting the growing demand for health care professionals in this region, and I am excited to be part of such a vital effort. And as the region continues to grow, we look forward to expanding our efforts to meet the health care needs of our community.”
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.###