The leader of Arkansas’ only academic health sciences university is stepping down after seven years on the job.
Dr. Cam Patterson says he’s leaving his post as chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences once a transition plan is in place. According to a news release, he’ll continue to serve as a professor of cardiology at the university’s medical school.
“The work our team has done at UAMS over the last seven-plus years has been the high point of my career,” Patterson said in a statement. “We have a lot to be proud of, and I’ve been the luckiest guy to be a part of it. I am excited about the opportunity to return to the faculty and engage more deeply in the academic and clinical missions at our institution.”
Patterson cited personal and medical reasons for stepping down. University of Arkansas System President Jay Silveria will name an interim chancellor in the coming weeks, with a national search for a new chancellor to follow.
The move comes at a time of uncertainty at UAMS; the Trump administration has vowed to slash funding for the National Institutes of Health, which funds much of the university’s research. Proposed federal cuts to Medicaid could also put a strain on the UAMS Medical Center, the largest public hospital in the state.
Patterson began his tenure as UAMS chancellor in 2018 following a stint as senior vice president and chief operating officer of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Komansky Children’s Hospital in New York.
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