UAMS Raising Its Minimum Wage to $16 an Hour
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is raising its minimum wage from $15 to $16 an hour, effective April 12.
“At my first employee Town Hall as chancellor, I committed to raising the compensation of our lowest-paid employees,” said Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “I am pleased that we have been able to quickly implement this change for our employees.”
Barnes was named chancellor of UAMS by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees on Feb. 5. He had served since July 2025 as interim chancellor.
The change will affect approximately 1,800 employees across 75 different positions, including instrument techs, housekeepers, cooks, call center operators, parking ambassadors, access coordinators, customer service associates, and more.
Eligible employees are being notified by the UAMS Office of Human Resources and will see the adjustment reflected in their May 1 paychecks.
“This is the first of what I hope will be many pay increases for our hardworking employees,” Barnes said. “We aren’t yet in a financial position to be able to offer cost-of-living or merit-based increases for all employees, but we are growing our revenues as we work toward that goal.”
More information on job openings at UAMS and how to apply online can be found at hr.uams.edu.
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 1,015 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.###