Sept. 4, 2009 | Attending his final University of Arkansas Board of Trustees meeting before his Oct. 31 retirement, UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd. Wilson, M.D., added another title to his resume.

During a surprise moment at its Sept. 4 meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted a resolution to name Wilson chancellor emeritus and presented him with a framed copy of the resolution.

“The move to Arkansas from Minnesota couldn’t have been a better choice for me and my family,” Wilson said. “We couldn’t have connected with better people or better circumstances anywhere else and we’ve had a wonderful life here in Arkansas. In a sense, this is a little bit embarrassing to accept this here in front of everyone, but it is greatly appreciated.”

Tim E. Hunt, chairman of the Board of Trustees, read the resolution, prompting a standing ovation from those in attendance.

“Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas that I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, be congratulated for his leadership at UAMS and be granted the title chancellor emeritus,” Hunt said. “And that he take with him the appreciation and good wishes of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas.”

Wilson arrived at UAMS in 1986 as a professor and dean of the College of Medicine from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he was a professor and vice chairman of the Department of Medicine. He was named executive vice chancellor at UAMS in July 1994 and then chancellor in 2000.

Wilson has led growth in patient care, education, research and community outreach programs during his time as chancellor. In 2005, he became the first recipient of the Harry P. Ward Chancellor’s Chair at UAMS, the first chancellor’s chair endowed at an Arkansas university.

Wilson garnered significant private and public funds to support more than $570 million worth of major UAMS expansion projects, including a 540,000-square-foot hospital expansion that opened earlier this year with a new parking deck. The 100,000-square-foot Psychiatric Research Institute opened in December, and a 300,000-square-foot expansion to the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute will open in 2010.

The Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Dan Rahn, M.D., of Augusta, Ga., the next chancellor of UAMS on March 24.

Rahn will be the fourth chancellor of the institution and will assume the post Nov. 1. Rahn has been president of the Medical College of Georgia and senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia since 2001.

“We plan on staying here in Arkansas and building on the friendships and connections we’ve made and appreciate everything this job has offered us,” Wilson said. “I know you’ll be just as pleased when Dan Rahn takes over.”

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,600 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. Visit www.uams.edu.