Family Legacy Continues with Creation of College of Medicine Scholarship
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is significant to Kirsten Clement and her family for a number of reasons. For one, her late father, Willis M. Stevens, M.D., graduated from the UAMS College of Medicine in 1959. Further, she has several family members who are part of the UAMS community, including her daughter and nephew who are students in the College of Medicine.
To honor the memory of her parents, Clement made a $26,000 gift that created the Willis M. and Sara Beth Stevens Memorial Scholarship in the College of Medicine. The primary purpose of the scholarship is to help third-year medical students with unexpected expenses such as the step test, living expenses and traveling internships.
“It is my pleasure and honor to help create this scholarship, but I would like to credit my parents for making it possible,” said Clement. “The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences means a lot to our family, and it’s just right to do something for the medical students.”
Willis Stevens was born June 2, 1933, in El Dorado, Arkansas, and was raised in Grapevine, Arkansas, in Grant County. He graduated from the UAMS College of Medicine in 1959, first practicing at Family Practice in El Dorado. He then became a specialist in anesthesia and served as chief of anesthesia in El Dorado from 1971 until his retirement in 1993.
Stevens was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in El Dorado for many years. He also served in the United States Army as a general medical officer, serving in the Vietnam War.
Sara Beth Clement of Grapevine, Arkansas, was born Jan. 26, 1935. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in El Dorado, Arkansas, and spent her life making a home for her family. She graduated top of her class of five at Grapevine High School, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. She became the first water quality tester for the State of Arkansas.
The couple met at afternoon tea while Stevens was a medical student. They married Feb. 25, 1960. They had three children — Clement, Annalisa Wood and Willis M. Stevens III — and five grandchildren — Ethan M. Clement, Mikah M. Clement, Noah I. Wood, Luke D. Wood and Henlea E. Stevens.
Two of their grandchildren are currently medical students: Ethan Clement, Class of 2023, and Noah Wood, Class of 2026.
Willis Stevens passed away in 2015, and Sara Beth Clement Stevens passed away in 2022.
To mark the creation of the scholarship, the College of Medicine leadership hosted a small ceremony for the family. It was also an occasion to acknowledge a painting by Arkansas native Ann Presley that was donated by Kirsten Clement to the College of Medicine and is displayed in the college’s student lounge. The painting depicts a leisurely scene on a river.
The landscape, painted by Ann Presley, was donated by Kirsten Clement to the College of Medicine and is displayed in the college’s student lounge.
“My family and I wanted to choose a painting that not only represented the beauty of the Natural State — a scene that was serene and welcoming — but also has an attitude of whimsy and fun,” said Clement. “The fellow in the foreground casting his line hoping for that big bite is a nod to our father, who loved nothing more than being outside catching a fish.”
Scholarships, like the one created by the family, are an integral part of Vision 2029, the strategic plan formulated by UAMS to make Arkansas the healthiest state in the region. Under the plan, the College of Medicine hopes to provide significant scholarship support for medical students.
“We would like to thank Kirsten Clement and her family for their dedication to the College of Medicine,” said G. Richard Smith, M.D., interim dean of the College of Medicine and UAMS executive vice chancellor. “They should be proud of the legacy they’ve created at UAMS. Willis and Sara Beth would be proud of what their children and grandchildren.”
The next generation of doctors in the family are also excited about what their family is doing for the College of Medicine.
“I am very honored of how our family has chosen to remember my grandparents — this scholarship will help create future doctors, and it is incredibly inspiring,” said Ethan Clement. “In a few months I will graduate from the College of Medicine and will do my best to carry on the legacy of compassion, philanthropy and hope that my grandparents demonstrated.”