Message from UA System President Jay B. Silveria to UAMS
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Hi, I’m Jay Silveria and I’m the president of the University of Arkansas System. And it’s a privilege to have a few minutes of your time today. As many of you know, Dr. Cam Patterson stepped down as Chancellor of UAMS. And first, I’d like to take a moment to thank Dr. Patterson for his service, seven years as the Chancellor of UAMS. And we want to wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.
And so what’s next for us? What’s next for UAMS? Well, first we will begin a search. We will start a national search for the next leader that will lead UAMS into the future. And so today I’d like to announce that the search committee will be led by Dr. Bill Steinbach, chair of pediatrics. He will form a committee that will work with a national search firm and the University of Arkansas System to identify the next chancellor of UAMS.
In the meantime, in the coming weeks, you can expect me to announce an interim chancellor that will lead us during the transition period. But it’s important to recognize that it’s not just about one person. It’s not just about the chancellor. It’s about all of you. And so I’d like to take an opportunity for us to think about this inflection point for UAMS. There’s no secret that there are challenges in health care, and there are challenges in education.
So let’s take this opportunity to think about what the future of UAMS should be. And we can define that future. We have an opportunity to look at things that should be different, things that should be changed, things that will define the next era for UAMS. Let’s take a few moments to recommit ourselves to the important mission that you have to the state of Arkansas. And let’s not just commit to ourselves, let’s commit to each other.
And let’s elevate our own performance and let’s raise that of those around us as we set to set out the next future for UAMS. And also I want to set out a reminder that there’s an old saying that says, we are who we have been waiting for. We have it within us to define and set what the future is for UAMS. We don’t need anybody else to do that and we can do the hard work. And so I’m looking forward to working with you and I’m looking forward to the future of UAMS, which I think should be very, very bright.