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The gift will support key initiatives in the UAMS College of Medicine.
UAMS Receives $720,000 Gift from Frank Threlkeld Trust
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) received a $720,702 gift from the trust of the late Frank Threlkeld, M.D., to support key initiatives in the UAMS College of Medicine.
“UAMS is deeply thankful to be included in Frank Threlkeld’s legacy of generosity, a gesture that is especially meaningful considering that he was a graduate of UAMS,” said C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., interim chancellor of UAMS. “Dr. Threlkeld’s memory will live on through the many initiatives that this gift will support.”
Threlkeld, born in Manila, Arkansas, was a 1948 graduate of the College of Medicine. After receiving his medical degree, he served as a medical officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was stationed in Japan and Korea. He later practiced in Veterans Affairs hospitals in Memphis, Tennessee, and Lincoln, Nebraska. He moved to Claremont, California, in 1959, where he practiced as a pediatrician until his retirement. He died in 2005. Prior to his death, Threlkeld established a trust to support a beloved family member throughout their lifetime. The remainder of the trust was designated to benefit UAMS, and realized in 2025.
Frank Threlkeld, M.D., was a 1948 graduate of the College of Medicine.
“The College of Medicine is honored and grateful for the longstanding support Dr. Threlkeld initiated, which will meaningfully benefit generations of Arkansans to come,” said Steven Webber, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and UAMS executive vice chancellor. “Dr. Threlkeld truly exemplified the philanthropic spirit that makes our alumni special.”
In addition to the recent gift, Threlkeld invested in numerous College of Medicine initiatives, including the 1948 Endowment for Excellence in Education and the Harold Braswell Challenge Scholarship.
“We are deeply grateful for Dr. Threlkeld’s foresight — a decision that set in motion a gift of profound generosity and purpose,” said John Erck, vice chancellor for the Division of Institutional Advancement. “Philanthropy comes in many forms, but all giving shares a belief that we can lift up others through sincerity and commitment.”
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 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 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.###