Rawle A. “Tony” Seupaul, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was invested Jan. 19 as the inaugural recipient of the Stanley E. Reed Professorship for Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Injury Prevention.
Seupaul was presented with a commemorative medallion by UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, MD, and Pope L. Moseley, MD, UAMS executive vice chancellor and dean of the College of Medicine.
“This professorship has very special meaning because it’s established in honor of Stanley Reed, who touched the lives of many across Arkansas,” said Rahn. “Today, we celebrate an outstanding faculty member in Tony Seupaul, who is rapidly shaping our emergency medicine program into one of national prominence.”
Initial funds for the professorship were made in memory of Reed, the noted farmer and public servant who died in 2011 following an auto accident. Reed was a member of the University of Arkansas System board of trustees and was a former Arkansas Farm Bureau president. He served as the first chairman of the UAMS College of Medicine Advisory Board and was a member of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board.
“This is a distinct honor for me and my family, and my department, whom I truly love,” Seupaul said. “The Reed family’s vision to support the initiation of this endowment, particularly in emergency medicine, is very special.”
Reed played a significant role in promoting Arkansas agriculture products to international markets, leading trade missions to several countries.
Reed operated a highly successful family farming operation in Lee and St. Francis counties. He was posthumously named to the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012, the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2014, and the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Most occupations in rural Arkansas are occupations that need emergency medicine and trauma care, and my father would’ve been very pleased to see those efforts supported,” Nathan Reed said about his father, Stanley Reed.
Seupaul joined UAMS in 2013 from the Indiana University School of Medicine, helping greatly expand the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Seupaul mentioned the third-year rotations his residents do in rural areas of Arkansas, and how more residents are choosing to stay in rural areas after their residency. “That is one of the many ways that we will expand emergency medicine from UAMS into the rural areas to improve health care, and I think that’s exactly what Stanley would’ve wanted,” Seupaul said.
Seupaul graduated from Northwestern University’s Honors Program in Medical Education in 1997, with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., where he was a chief resident. Following his residency, Seupaul joined the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Wishard Based Faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine in 2000, its inaugural year.
Seupaul has been named to the UAMS Circle of Excellence dean’s list, has twice been chosen by students to receive the Red Sash Award for excellence in teaching, and received the College of Medicine’s Dean’s Educational Incentive Award in 2013. He was also recently elected chief of staff for UAMS Medical Center. He has participated in several funded clinical trials and has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications, in addition to a number of scientific abstracts, book chapters and commentaries.