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The Chancellor’s Circle, UAMS’ premier annual giving society, donates more than $200,000 a year that funds grants to address the institution’s highest priorities. Image by Evan Lewis

UAMS Chancellor’s Circle Awards Grants to 14 Programs

By Andrew Vogler

| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) awarded 14 grants totaling $273,072 at the annual Chancellor’s Circle Grant Awards ceremony held Nov. 3 at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum.

The Chancellor’s Circle is UAMS’ premier annual giving society. Through its unrestricted annual giving, this group of dedicated members donates more than $200,000 a year that funds grants to address the institution’s highest priorities. More than 250 household and corporate members make up the Chancellor’s Circle.

“Membership in this organization supports the Chancellor’s Circle endowment, and we are grateful for your generosity as these funds have a tremendous impact on the lives of the people of our state,” said C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., UAMS interim chancellor and professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. “The impact these grants have had on UAMS over the years is not just an impressive dollar amount, there have been significant transformations made possible through them.”

UAMS uses the grants to purchase state-of-the-art medical equipment, provide seed money for innovative health and wellness programs, and finance research projects of high potential to the state’s economic and social development.

Since the inception of the Chancellor’s Circle in 1984, donors have given more than $9 million to support UAMS’ mission. The funds awarded in the ceremony will support key mission areas in health care education, research and patient care.

“Every year we welcome new members to the Chancellor’s Circle and this increase in membership, along with support from other members, has brought in over $9 million of investment with the proceeds used to support a variety of programs at UAMS,” said Lester Matlock, chair of the UAMS Board of Advisors and Chancellor’s Circle member. “In 2014, we began issuing these funds through grants, and after today, more than $3 million in grant funding will have been awarded to projects and programs at UAMS.”

This year’s grants were awarded to the following:

  • The Arkansas Imagination Library provides every baby born at UAMS with a new book each month for the first five years of their lives. Infants will receive the first book before being discharged from UAMS and then receive a book each month in the mail from the Imagination Library. Putting a book in the hands of each child and their family will ideally inspire a love a reading, help prepare these children for early education and potentially set them on a path that leads to healthier outcomes for the rest of their lives. Andy Davis, MSCE, PE, chief transformation officer, accepted the $35,000 grant.
  • Bridging Aspirations: Inspiring and Developing Future Mental Health Leaders will provide early, structured exposure to mental health careers, coupled with sustained mentorship, to address the glaring mismatch in Arkansas between the demand for mental health care and the capacity of its workforce. It will deliver a one-week immersive academy each year for rising college freshmen and undergraduates that delineates the full spectrum of career paths such as psychiatry, psychology, peer support, social work and digital-health innovation. Laura B. Dunn, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric Research Institute, and Isis Pettway, LPC, NCC, senior clinical therapist for UAMS Health AR ConnectNow, accepted the $25,000 grant.
  • Care in Motion: A Planning Initiative for Mobile Health Outreach seeks to address the unmet physical health needs of people experiencing homelessness in Little Rock while creating an innovative and integrated education model for community-based nursing. In collaboration with the City of Little Rock, the program hopes to improve health outcomes, reduce unnecessary emergency department use and increase trust between health care providers and marginalized populations. Jocelyn C. Anderson, Ph.D., RN, associate professor in the College of Nursing Department of Nursing Science, accepted the $28,500 grant.
  • Care That Grows with Us: Scaling Impact at the 12th Street Health & Wellness Center will build upon the momentum of the past decade of progress by enhancing the patient experience, expanding clinical diagnostics and growing sustainable innovation. Plans are to refresh patient-facing spaces to create a welcoming environment; further invest in point-of-care technologies, like Complete Blood Count testing, to streamline acute management; and leverage digital tools, such as Ejenta, to fuel data-driven care and student-led quality improvement projects. This support will not only help meet current needs but also position the 12th Street Health & Wellness Center as a model for collaborative, community-centered innovation in student-run free clinics nationwide. Madeline Neubauer, Pharm.D., assistant center director, accepted the $20,000 grant.
  • In 2026, Creative Care for Parkinsonism will conduct a yearlong series of cooking classes, as well as ongoing art and music sessions, to help people with Parkinsonism and their caregivers eat better, feel more confident and stay connected. Throughout the year, the program will also collect feedback and formally evaluate data to better understand changes in diet, independence and emotional well-being, determining what’s working, what could be improved and how we might eventually adapt and share this model with others. Rohit Dhall, M.D., chair of the College of Medicine Department of Neurology, accepted the $10,000 grant.
  • Developing a Community-Informed Framework to Improve Access to Low-Cost Hearing Devices in Rural Arkansas seeks to improve hearing care access in rural, underserved areas. Wearing a hearing device may help lower the risk or severity of cognitive decline, depression and falls in older adults, leading to a better quality of life and potentially lowering health care costs. Despite these benefits, fewer than one in three older adults in the U.S. with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing devices has ever used them. This number is likely to be even lower in rural Arkansas. To ensure that people receive the right care, at the right place and at the right price, this program will work with community members to identify acceptable over-the-counter hearing device types at affordable prices, preferred locations for obtaining devices and the trusted individuals within communities, such as primary care clinic staff and pharmacists, who could support older adults in selecting and fitting over-the-counter hearing devices. Susan D. Emmett, M.D., MPH, a professor of otolaryngology and epidemiology and director of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Access, accepted the $39,552 grant.
  • The “Dollie” Dementia Wandering Safety System, part of the UAMS Centers on Aging FOUND Program (Facilitating Our Understanding of Neighbors with Dementia), addresses the challenges of wandering, a common and dangerous behavior among individuals with dementia. The “Dollie” system provides tools like identification bracelets, door alarms and signage to improve safety and peace of mind for families. A key component of the system is a durable, tamper-resistant bracelet that can quickly identify a lost individual and access critical caregiver contact and medical information. The bracelet will link to a secure, cloud-based profile managed by the Centers on Aging, allowing real-time updates of medications, conditions and contacts. AmyLeigh Overton-McCoy, Ph.D., RN, APRN, director of the UAMS Centers on Aging, accepted the $30,000 grant.
  • Empowering Student Innovation: Building an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem at UAMS provides opportunities for medical students to gain hands-on training in areas such as intellectual property, startup development, and translational research and commercialization. It provides structured, experiential pathways for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students and trainees to transform scientific ideas into impactful innovations that improve the health and well-being of all Arkansans, by integrating scientific research, technology commercialization and entrepreneurial education into a cohesive program that empowers the next generation of innovators. Megan Reed, Ph.D., MBA, senior licensing associate with BioVentures, accepted the $15,000 grant.
  • Enhancing Communication Skills in Medical Trainees through a Hybrid AI-Human Coaching Model will promote reflective practice among hematology/oncology and palliative care fellows, supporting the development of empathy, clarity and confidence in clinical communication, using a hybrid model that blends human coaching with AI-driven feedback, based on the Academy of Communication in Healthcare methodology. These fellows routinely engage in emotionally complex conversations about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment decisions and goals of care. Such training will provide them with a practical, sustainable approach that integrates evidence-based teaching, real-time feedback and opportunities for deliberate practice throughout the year. Konstantinos Arnaoutakis, M.D., a hematologist and oncologist in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, accepted the $8,400 grant.
  • The Protecting the Heartbeat of UAMS: AED Access Initiative will install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on each floor of the three UAMS educational buildings and one on each floor of the residence hall, ensuring that no location is more than a three-minute walk from a device. The initiative will also launch an educational campaign to inform the university community about the location and importance of AEDs. Michelle Zengulis, B.A., Title IX and ADA coordinator, and Teresa Whited, DNP, RN, APRN, associate dean of Academic Programs, accepted the $17,000 grant.
  • Summer Under Microscope: Environmental Health Sciences Camp will provide Arkansas high school students with a hands-on, immersive experience designed to deepen their understanding of environmental health principles, expose them to real-world environmental issues affecting their communities, and inspire future academic and career paths in public and environmental health. Igor Koturbash, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor and vice-chair in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, and Christopher Fettes, M.A., instructor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, accepted the $9,120 grant.
  • TBI-SPARK (Traumatic Brain Injury: Screening, Prevention, Awareness, Response and Knowledge) is a research-driven initiative designed to identify and support students who may be experiencing the hidden effects of brain injuries. These injuries are often the result of early childhood accidents, abuse or trauma, and can impair memory, attention and emotional regulation. Yet they frequently go unrecognized in school settings. Without proper identification, students may be mislabeled as defiant or disruptive rather than understood as needing targeted support. TBI-SPARK aims to evaluate whether integrating TBI screening into an existing school safety infrastructure improves outcomes for students with behavioral concerns. Michelle W. Krause, M.D., MPH, senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Center, accepted the $10,500 grant.
  • The UAMS Library Learning Lab will revitalize an underutilized computer lab located between the library’s Education and Research Services department and the Active Learning Center. This space will be transformed into a flexible, student-centered environment that supports hands-on learning, small-group instruction, and both independent and collaborative study. Positioned in a secure, badge-accessible area with existing emergency infrastructure, the space is ideal for use as a high-impact learning hub. Susan Steelman, MLIS, AHIP, professor and head of Education and Research Services at the UAMS Library, and Jordan Ford, MLIS, M.S., outreach services librarian for the UAMS Library, accepted the $10,000 grant.
  • Transforming SmartCare Access for Faculty and Employees seeks to remove barriers, streamline enrollment and increase awareness of SmartCare’s benefits through targeted outreach and digital engagement tools. SmartCare is offered to UAMS employees and their family members who are insured by a University of Arkansas System health plan. With SmartCare, employees can receive substantial savings in health care provided by UAMS primary care physicians and specialists. This initiative honors the legacy and vision of Nancy “Jo” Smith and reflects her belief that those who care for others should also be cared for with dignity, efficiency and ease. This effort represents not just a practical improvement in access, but a cultural shift in how we support the well-being of our own UAMS community. Michael Manley, MNSc., RN, accepted the $15,000 grant.

To learn more about the Chancellor’s Circle, visit giving.uams.edu/chancellorscircle.

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 3,553 students and 902 medical residents and fellows. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 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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