Kyle Parker has been named chief executive officer and president of the proposed Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith.
Parker previously served as chairman of the Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation, the entity that approved a $58 million commitment for the medical school in February. Members of the board approached Parker about assuming the CEO role for the proposed school and the newly formed Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, he said.
Organizers of the medical school effort in Fort Smith are targeting fall 2017 for opening with a class of 150 students. Within four years the school could have as many as 600 students.
Currently, the school exists in idea and land only. Members of the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority gave 200 acres to the effort in February, and the project could cost more than $60 million.
Parker, a former private practice lawyer with experience in startups and higher education, said the challenge of building the school from scratch was appealing to him.
“Excitement for me has always been in building things,” Parker said. “This is literally a piece of land, and I’m not walking into an existing facility, but these are the things that get my juices going. I find it exciting. I’ll have my eyes wide open, and it’s an exciting thing to be part of this.”
Parker previously worked as vice chancellor of operations at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith from 2009-12 and most recently worked in private banking investments and mergers and acquisitions. Parker’s duties at UAFS included developing a strategic plan for the college’s growth, and he oversaw areas including technology, building and grounds and new construction.
Frazier Edwards, executive director of the Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association, said his organization was supportive of the decision to hire Parker. Fort Smith is one of two communities working toward the establishment of an osteopathic medical school. Arkansas State University is partnering with New York Institute of Technology in hopes of bringing a medical school to the Jonesboro campus.
Only the Fort Smith effort has the endorsement of the state osteopathic association.
“I think that you couldn’t find a more dedicated and honest person to lead the charge. He’s extremely qualified to do so,” Edwards said. “He’s everything we could have hoped for.”
Parker has worked closely with Edwards and the state association the past 14 months to establish the feasibility of building a school in Fort Smith. Because of his role in the process that secured the $58 million in funding, Parker said, he was hesitant initially about taking the CEO position, recognizing the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“I actually struggled when they asked me, because I didn’t in any way want someone to think for a second that my agreement was predisposed,” said Parker, a graduate of Arkansas Tech University and Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire. “So I had to ask those questions back [to the board]. I’ve been fortunate in my business life to the point where I didn’t need, if you will, this job from a monetary standpoint. … It came down to the passion I have to make a difference. We share the same beliefs and passion.”
Western Arkansas is one of the most medically underserved areas in a state that ranks among the nation’s worst when it comes to health care. Educating more doctors is critical for Arkansas, Parker said.
Parker told the Fort Chaffee board in February that the hope is to one day include a dental school and other medical training and have enrollment nearing 4,000. Organizers of the effort in Fort Smith said the school will employ more than 60 with an average salary exceeding $103,000.
First, Parker must find a chief academic officer or dean of the school. He has been interviewing from a national pool of candidates.
Hiring a dean is a key step in receiving accreditation for the medical school. Parker is also reviewing bids for an architect on the project.
“There are an awful lot of things that are at the top of my list,” Parker said.
Business, Pages 27 on 04/11/2014