University of Arkansas System President Jay Silveria on Monday named Dr. C. Lowry Barnes, professor and chair of the UAMS Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, as interim chancellor of the university effective July 11.
Barnes replaces Dr. Cam Patterson, who announced June 10 that he was leaving the role after seven years for personal and medical reasons. Patterson plans to return to a faculty position in cardiology at UAMS.
Barnes is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint reconstruction and replacement surgery of the hip and knee. He joined UAMS in 2014 as professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also serves as the director of the Musculoskeletal Service Line at UAMS Health.
Barnes is also the founding director of The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at UAMS, which opened in 2023.
Barnes has made substantial contributions to research focused on the hip and knee, having published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles, the UA System said in a news release. He lectures nationally and internationally on total joint replacement surgery and holds seven patents for orthopaedic surgery devices and implants.
Silveria said Barnes’ name has been synonymous with UAMS and success for many years. “I trust his knowledge, passion, and leadership to steer the state’s only academic health sciences center during this time of transition” Silveria said. “It’s important to keep UAMS’s mission of serving all Arkansans moving forward and steady during the national search process for a permanent chancellor, and I’m grateful that Dr. Barnes was willing to accept this challenge and additional responsibility.”
Silveria said the planning process to begin a national search to find UAMS’ next permanent leader is underway. An advisory search committee has been named to help Silveria identify candidates.
The committee members are:
- Dr. William Steinbach, chair of pediatrics, UAMS College of Medicine (committee chair)
- Dr. Ahmed Abuabdou, chief clinical officer, UAMS Medical Center
- Ryan Cork, vice chancellor, UAMS Northwest Campus
- Andy Davis, vice chancellor for government relations
- John Erck, vice chancellor for advancement
- Dr. Molly Gathright, executive associate dean for graduate medical education, UAMS College of Medicine
- Dr. Laura James, associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational research
- Lester Matlock, Jr., chair, UAMS board of advisors
- Dana Metcalf, chair, UAMS house of delegates
- Dr. Claude Pirtle, president, Heartland Whole Health Institute
- Natalie Rockefeller, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute board of advisors
- Dr. Cindy Stowe, dean, UAMS College of Pharmacy
- Dr. Christopher Walter, President, UAMS academic senate
- Jeremy Wilson, UA board of trustees
The search committee will soon begin by working with a search firm to finalize a chancellor position profile and advertising the open position to open the search process, according to the release.
Barnes’ background
After graduating with honors from the UAMS College of Medicine, Barnes remained at UAMS for his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery. He completed an adult reconstructive surgery and arthritis surgery fellowship at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Barnes was then selected to participate in the John N. Insall Traveling Fellowship as well as an Association for the Study of Internal Fixation Adult Orthopaedic Fellowship at Inselspital in Bern, Switzerland.
Barnes went into practice as a joint replacement surgeon at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics, later becoming its president and managing partner for more than a decade.
He’s held numerous leadership roles in professional societies, including serving as the president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. He has also served as president of the Society for Arthritic Joint Surgery, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association, the Southern Orthopaedic Association, and the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society.
Barnes is actively involved in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Association of Bone and Joint Surgeonswater, and the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty.
He is also a member of prestigious Knee Society and Hip Society and serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals.
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