By Yavonda Chase
Aug. 2, 2023 | LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine invested Julie M. Riley, M.D., FACS, in the Hal Reed Black, M.D., Chair in Urology during a July 25 ceremony.
Riley, who joined UAMS in 2021, serves a professor and vice chair in the UAMS Department of Urology. She is also the quality director for surgical services and the director of the Urology Residency Program.
“In 2021, I was recruited to UAMS by Dr. Langford, who I want to thank for showing great faith in my abilities,” said Riley. “I also want to thank everyone who came to support me today — it means a great deal to see so many people who have contributed to my success so far.”
An endowed chair is established with gifts of at least $1 million, which are invested and the interest proceeds used to support the educational, research and clinical activities of the chair holder.
“An endowed chair is the highest honor that we can bestow on our faculty members and those named to a chair are among the most highly regarded scientists, practitioners and professors in their academic fields,” said Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, UAMS chancellor and CEO of UAMS Health. “I want to thank Julie Riley for coming to UAMS and being part of a revitalized urology program.”
The Hal Reed Black, M.D., Professorship in Urology was established in 1995, in honor of Hal Reed Black Jr., M.D., of Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1950, he received his medical degree from UAMS, and after completing his residency in urology, entered private practice in Little Rock. With Black’s passing in 1990, there was an outpouring of donations from colleagues, friends and former patients to establish the professorship, which would be endowed with a generous gift by Juanita Winn, Black’s sister, and James Winn. The professorship, which remained unfilled, became an endowed chair through funds contributed by the Department of Urology.
“Endowed chairs help us to improve our programs that serve Arkansas year in and year out, which is especially important when other resources are limited,” said G. Richard Smith, M.D., a distinguished professor of psychiatry, and the interim dean of the College of Medicine and UAMS executive vice chancellor. “It is really an honor today to celebrate the generosity and philanthropic spirit that made the Hal Reed Black, M.D., Chair in Urology possible.”
Prior to joining UAMS, Riley worked at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, where she was the executive surgeon leader of surgical services, overseeing operations of four surgical sites. While at UNM, she also served as the urology clinic director and urology research director.
Riley received her medical degree from St. Louis University of Medicine. She completed a six-year residency at the University of Missouri-Columbia in urology. She then completed a fellowship in laparoscopy, robotics and endourology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Riley’s clinical passion is in management of kidney stones, both medical and surgical. She is also an expert in ureteral reconstruction, renal surgery and renal transplantation. She is currently completing her master’s degree in business administration in health care leadership at the University of Texas at Dallas through the prestigious Alliance for Physician Leaders Program.
Riley is heavily involved in both regional and national urologic associations. She is the secretary of the South Central Section of the American Urologic Association (AUA), the first woman to serve in that role. She also completed the AUA Leadership Program, receiving a top award in 2019. She has received several resident teaching roles and accolades for medical student teaching, most recently the UAMS Red Sash Award in 2023.
“Dr. Riley has been invaluable to me and our program, and she is one of the finest clinicians that I have ever worked with, bringing world-class care in medical and surgical management,” said Timothy Langford, M.D., chair of the Department of Urology in the UAMS College of Medicine. “She is a fearless and technically proficient surgeon, and as our residency program director, she had been a phenomenal teacher and mentor to our residents, students and faculty, including me. I am a better urologist because of Dr. Riley.”UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,240 students, 913 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
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