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John Spollen, M.D., (left) and Leslie Stone, M.D., MPH
UAMS Announces Leadership Changes in College of Medicine
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) College of Medicine announced leadership changes, effective July 1.
John Spollen, M.D., the college’s associate dean for Northwest Arkansas, was named executive associate dean for Academic Affairs, replacing James Graham, M.D., who is retiring after 35 years of service to UAMS and Arkansas.
Leslie Stone, M.D., MPH, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, replaces Spollen as the college’s associate dean for Northwest Arkansas.
“Over the course of his career, Dr. Graham has helped shape the educational experience of generations of UAMS medical students, leaving a lasting impact on the College of Medicine and its mission. We will miss him greatly,” said Ronald Robertson, M.D., interim dean of the college.
“I look forward to working closely with Dr. Spollen and Dr. Stone. Both of them are exceptional leaders, and I am confident that they will be instrumental in charting the course for the future of medical education in our state,” Robertson said.
Spollen, a professor of Psychiatry, has garnered extensive recognition for his teaching, clinical care, and leadership since joining the faculty in 1999. He served as vice chair for education in the Department of Psychiatry from 2004 to 2022 and as interim chair of the department and interim director of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute from June 2021 to February 2022. A nationally recognized psychiatrist, he also held several clinical and administrative posts in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.
Nearly two decades ago, Spollen led the development of the initial curriculum for medical students at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. Since his appointment as associate dean for Northwest Arkansas in 2023, Spollen has led numerous efforts to expand and enhance the College of Medicine’s academic programs in the region and beyond.
Spollen received his medical degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine and completed his residency in psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.
An Arkansas native with deep community ties in Northwest Arkansas, Stone joined UAMS in 2018. He has held several key educational leadership roles at UAMS, including associate director of medical student education for the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, director of the Honors Program in Underserved Primary Care, and clerkship director for Family Medicine. His teaching excellence has been recognized by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians, among others.
Stone graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from the University of Central Arkansas before earning his medical degree from the UAMS College of Medicine. He completed his family medicine residency at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus in Fayetteville before earning a Master of Public Health degree at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York.
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.###