HJLR Nov/Dec 2018

Healthcare Journal of little rock I  NOV / DEC 2018 39 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalLR.com ideal choice for this professorship,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, MBA. “It is vital that we continue the legacy of Dr. Lipsmeyer, who helped train countless rheumatologists in the state of Arkansas, and this professorship will ensure that we do just that.” An endowed professorship is among the high- est academic honors a university can bestow on a faculty member. A professorship is a $500,000 endowment established to support the educa- tional, research, and clinical activities of its holder, who will lead future innovations in medicine and healthcare. Those named to a professorship are among the most highly regarded scientists, phy- sicians, and professors in their fields of expertise. “Our students and trainees, and ultimately the patients they will care for, as well as the patients who come here to UAMS, are all very fortunate to have Dr. Berney’s leadership in rheumatology,” said Christopher T. Westfall, MD, dean of the Col- lege of Medicine. “This professorship will help to carry on the distinguished legacy of Dr. Lipsmeyer for generations to come.” The newly established professorship hon- ors Lipsmeyer, a physician and beloved faculty member and teacher in the Division of Rheuma- tology. Lipsmeyer received her medical degree from UAMS in 1962 and stayed for her residency in internal medicine. After completing her train- ing at Yale University, she returned to UAMS in 1969, joining the faculty as assistant professor. Over the next five decades, she was promoted through the academic ranks, serving as profes- sor until her retirement in 2015. Lipsmeyer earned high praise from patients, being recognized repeatedly as one of Arkan- sas’ best rheumatologists, and was voted one of Children’s; chief of service at Arkansas Chil- dren’s; and chairman and medical director of the Ophthalmic Medical Technology Program in the UAMS College of Health Professions. Westfall served as UAMS chief of medical staff in 2014– 2016. In 2008 he was invested as the inaugu- ral holder of the Pat Walker Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology. Westfall received an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and earned a medical degree at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He completed a residency in general surgery at Kee- sler U.S. Air Force Medical Center in Mississippi, was certified by the American Board of Surgery, and awarded fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (FACS). He went on to complete a residency in ophthalmology at Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and a two-year fellowship in oph- thalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. Westfall served as department chair and res- idency program director in ophthalmology at Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center. He retired at the rank of colonel and as chief consul- tant in ophthalmology to the U.S. Air Force Sur- geon General. Seth Berney, MD, Invested in Inaugural Eleanor A. Lipsmeyer Professorship in Rheumatology Seth Berney, MD, chief of the Division of Rheu- matology in the College of Medicine at the Uni- versity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was recently invested as the inaugural profes- sor of the Eleanor A. Lipsmeyer Professorship in Rheumatology. Berney, who also is director of the UAMS rheu- matology fellowship program, has more than 20 years of experience as a researcher and teacher, for which he has received numerous awards. Since joining UAMS in 2014, he has made it his goal to develop one of the premiere rheumatology train- ing programs in the country. “Seth Berney embodies the full spectrum of our mission at UAMS as an accomplished teacher, researcher, and clinician, and that makes him an as dean permanent this month. “We conducted a nationwide search and found that we already had the best person for the job in Dr. Westfall,” Patterson said. “Dr. Westfall has served UAMS for more than 20 years as a physi- cian, department leader, and head of the Jones Eye Institute. He is the perfect person for the job and we are thankful he has agreed to continue to serve in this important capacity.” Until his appointment as permanent College of Medicine dean, Westfall had been chair of the college’s Department of Ophthalmology. UAMS professor Sami H. Uwaydat, MD, has been appointed the department’s interim chair. Westfall continues as director of the UAMS Har- vey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute and as holder of the Pat Walker Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology. “In my past six months as interim dean, my understanding of the complex inner workings of this institution has expanded, my respect for the UAMS College of Medicine faculty is deeper than ever before, and my dedication to our mis- sion is stronger for the experience,” Westfall said. “I am honored that the chancellor and my colleagues continue to put their trust in me as we work together to educate exceptional phy- sicians, advance research that transforms health care and improves health, and ensure that Arkan- sans receive the very best medical care.” Westfall joined the faculty in 1997 and served in numerous leadership positions prior to his appointment as chair of ophthalmology and director of the Jones Eye Institute in 2009. These included vice chairman and medical practice leader; chief of the oculoplastic surgical services at UAMS Medical Center, the John L. McClel- lan Memorial Veterans Hospital, and Arkansas Christopher T. Westfall, MD, FACS Seth Berney, MD