Renee Bornemeier, M.D.
Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs and Development
Dr. Renee Bornemeier has served as associate dean for faculty affairs and development since September 2021. She previously led faculty issues for multiple college departments at Arkansas Children’s as an assistant dean since 2020. She served as interim chair of the Department of Pediatrics from November 2020 to January 2022, and has held the role of vice chair for faculty affairs in the department since 2017. Dr. Bornemeier has been a member of the Pediatrics Promotion and Tenure Committee since 2013. She served on the college’s Promotion and Tenure Committee in 2012-2016, and was chair in 2015-2016. Dr. Bornemeier graduated from UAMS in 1988 and completed her pediatrics residency at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s. She completed a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and returned to UAMS in 1994 as an instructor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. She has held the rank of professor since 2009. Dr. Bornemeier’s clinical leadership roles have included medical director of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Heart Station from 1995 to 2008, director of the Bale Fetal Heart Center since 2009, vice chief of staff in 2017-2018 and subsequently chief of staff.
Contact Dr. Bornemeier: BornemeierReneeA@uams.edu
Beatrice Boateng, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Analysis, Planning and Strategic Program Development
Dr. Beatrice Boateng was appointed to the newly established post of associate dean for analysis, planning and strategic program development in October 2021. She has provided expert assessment and evaluation for programs at the department, institute and college level at UAMS for more than a decade. Dr. Boateng was the College of Medicine’s assistant dean for faculty assessment and evaluation in 2019-2021 and director of evaluation for the Translational Research Institute (TRI) in 2014-2021. In the Department of Pediatrics, she served as director of the Office of Education and co-director of faculty development from 2011 to 2019, when she became the department’s director of faculty assessment and evaluation. Dr. Boateng earned her master’s degree in international affairs and doctorate in instructional technology from Ohio University. She joined UAMS in 2007 as an assistant professor in the Office of Educational Development. She moved to the Department of Pediatrics in 2009 and was promoted to associate professor in 2013 and to professor in 2020.
Contact Dr. Boateng: 501-526-7668 | BBoateng@uams.edu
Rebecca Latch, M.D.
Associate Dean, Student Affairs
Dr. Rebecca Latch brings two decades of experience in medical education to her role as associate dean for student affairs since Feb. 1, 2024. An associate professor and pediatric hospitalist, she served as section chief for Pediatric Hospital Medicine in 2018-2022 and as vice chair of education for the Department of Pediatrics in 2020-2024. Dr. Latch received her medical degree from UAMS in 2000, completed her residency and served as chief resident in Pediatrics before joining the faculty in 2004. She was pediatric clerkship director in 2009-2019 and director of pediatric medical student education in 2009-2020. She has served on the college’s curriculum committee since 2007 and currently co-chairs a task force that is planning a major curriculum innovation. Dr. Latch has received numerous awards from students as well as the Department of Pediatrics for her teaching.
Contact Dr. Latch: 501-686-8499 | LatchRebeccaL@uams.edu
John Spollen, M.D.
Associate Dean, Northwest Arkansas
Dr. Spollen is a professor of psychiatry and longtime educational leader in the college who has earned extensive recognition for his teaching, mentoring and clinical care. As regional associate dean since January 1, 2023, Dr. Spollen oversees initiatives to strengthen and expand the college’s robust academic programs in Northwest Arkansas. He has served in numerous leadership roles since joining the faculty in 1999, including vice chair for education in the Department of Psychiatry in 2004-2022 and interim chair of the department in June 2021-February 2022. Significantly, he led the development of the initial curriculum for medical students at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus in 2008. A nationally recognized psychiatrist, Dr. Spollen held several clinical and administrative roles in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, including director of the psychiatric consultation-liaison service, prior to assuming his current post in Northwest Arkansas.
Contact Dr. Spollen: 479-713-8300 | SpollenJohnJ@uams.edu
William J. Steinbach, M.D.
Associate Dean, Child Health
Dr. William Steinbach brings extensive leadership experience in pediatric care, research and education to his roles as chair of the Department of Pediatrics and associate dean for child health in the UAMS College of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief of Arkansas Children’s since January 2022. He previously was the Samuel L. Katz Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, professor and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University. Dr. Steinbach also served as vice chair of research in the Department of Pediatrics and as medical director of the Children’s Clinical Research Unit at Duke. He has led a multi-disciplinary clinical care and research program focusing on immunocompromised patients. His molecular, translational and clinical research focuses on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of invasive fungal infections and other infections, which are leading killers in patients with lowered immune systems. Dr. Steinbach founded and directs the International Pediatric Fungal Network, chairs an international conference, and co-edits four infectious diseases textbooks.
Contact Dr. Steinbach: 501-364-5262 | WSteinbach@uams.edu