Hiring search grows for UAM chancellor
BATESVILLE -- Additional candidates will be considered for the chancellor position at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt said Thursday.
Three finalists had visited the campus for interviews, but Bobbitt told UA System trustees the search remains open.
"Each of them had some characteristics that the campus was impressed with. None of them seemed to fit the position totally," Bobbitt told trustees. "It's such an important fit, with the needs of the campus and community being paramount, that the search committee would like to look at some additional candidates."
Mary Whiting, head of the search committee, in an email wrote that one of the finalists, Steven Runge, is still being considered for the top job. Runge is executive vice president and provost at the University of Central Arkansas.
The interim chancellor, Jay Jones, is on medical leave, and Jimmie Yeiser is serving as acting chancellor.
In an interview, Bobbitt said Jones is "doing a fine job." Asked if Jones is under consideration to stay on as chancellor, Bobbitt said, "I don't believe he is a candidate at this time, but I wouldn't rule anyone out."
He also said the new chancellor needs the endorsement of the campus community and that as part of the search process any future finalist candidates will visit the campus for a formal interview.
The university is seeking to replace Jack Lassiter, who retired in January.
For Helena college helm, 3 to interview
BATESVILLE -- Three finalists will be interviewed for the top job at Phillips Community College in Helena-West Helena.
University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt noted the number of finalists at Thursday's meeting of UA System trustees in Batesville.
Previously, the college had announced five finalists.
In a phone interview, Rhonda St. Columbia, the college's vice chancellor for college advancement and resource development, said none of the five previously announced finalists has been ruled out for the chancellor position.
But interviews will take place in late May and early June with three finalists: Keith Pinchback, vice chancellor of institutional advancement at Arkansas State University-Beebe; Steve Rook, vice president for student and academic affairs at Rich Mountain Community College in Mena; and Gary Stretcher, vice president for academic affairs at Lamar State College-Port Arthur, a college in Texas.
UAMS tells of need to grow, west study
BATESVILLE -- A full hospital has helped improve finances for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, but now the staff is scrambling to find enough beds for patients, leaders for the campus and medical center told University of Arkansas System trustees Wednesday.
A high-level financial-feasibility study is planned to help determine whether it makes business sense for UAMS to build an ambulatory surgical center in west Little Rock. The study also will examine other possibilities for facility expansion.
"We know we're going to have to do something to deal with the capacity," Roxane Townsend, chief executive officer for UAMS Medical Center, told trustees.
UAMS Chancellor Dr. Dan Rahn told trustees that the university received $474 million in revenue through the first nine months of the organization's fiscal year, with a positive operating margin of about $6 million. Along with full beds, UAMS leaders credited a reduction in uncompensated care provided to patients as helping with finances.
"That is almost entirely due to the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the private option here in Arkansas," Rahn said.
Under consideration is building a new facility on 11.3 acres of land that UAMS purchased roughly five years ago for $3.7 million. The land is at Cantrell and Rodney Parham roads.
In response to a question from trustees, Townsend said UAMS -- on the basis of existing demand -- could could use 60 additional patient beds, about eight additional outpatient operating rooms and 10 additional intensive care unit beds.
"The challenge is going to be uncertainties about future cash flow," Rahn said, noting ongoing political debates in Arkansas and nationally about health care reform.
Metro on 05/22/2015