University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Chancellor Dr. Dan Rahn said Monday that he will retire from the post next summer, giving officials 10 months to find the next chief of a public education-and-health care system with a $1.5 billion annual budget.
University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt will form a national search committee to find Rahn's successor. It is Bobbitt's job to recommend an appointment to the University of Arkansas System board of trustees.
UAMS employs 10,500, educates 3,000 students per year and oversees seven institutes on specialties such as cancer, psychiatric research, eye care and aging, said Leslie Taylor, UAMS vice chancellor for communications and marketing. The medical school's properties, which include hundreds of clinics throughout the state, counted 1 million patient visits in the past fiscal year, Taylor said.
The medical school is now balancing funding woes with goals to expand further, said Trustee Charles "Cliff" Gibson III, chairman of the board's joint hospital committee. Those goals include efforts to launch a college of dentistry and add more capacity to the 450-bed hospital.
When Rahn was selected as the medical school's fourth chancellor in 2009, the then-president of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta told the Democrat-Gazette he hoped to fill the role for 8-10 years. He said Monday that his last day will be July 31, 2017, which would complete his tenure just shy of eight years.
"I just think that for personal reasons that this is a good time to make this change," Rahn said Monday during a brief telephone interview. "Over the past year, I've had multiple conversations with Dr. Bobbitt ... and certainly with my wife and family. We just felt this was a good time."
The search for a new UAMS chancellor comes at a time when leadership is changing at several higher education campuses in the state. The University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and the private Lyon College in Batesville are each in the process of filling their top posts.
Rahn, who will turn 67 in March, earns $630,000 per year, plus $13,000 for housing and a car, Taylor said. The UAMS foundation provides $270,000 in annual deferred compensation, which is set aside for retirement.
Beyond spending time with his grandchildren in Augusta, Ga., Rahn said he's not sure what he will do next.
"I'm going to have to make some plans over the next nine months for activities going forward," Rahn said.
Asked what he'd like to do, Rahn said he didn't want to "speculate" but noted that he would "be looking for something different" and said volunteering is a possibility.
Gibson said he had expected Rahn to leave because of family reasons even though he hoped the chancellor would stay longer.
"This is not unexpected, because at some point you have to put your family first," Gibson said. "That's what I see here."
Rahn's announcement comes as his office prepares to interview three finalists who applied to be the UAMS vice chancellor for clinical affairs, a post that doubles as chief executive of its hospital.
Dr. RoxaneTownsend announced in April that she was leaving the $575,000 post to be closer with her family in North Carolina. Rahn this month appointed Dr. Stephen Mette, the medical center's chief clinical officer, to be the interim CEO.
Gibson lauded Rahn for expanding UAMS, cutting costs, forging partnerships with other Arkansas hospitals and insurers and for consulting with state lawmakers on how to expand Arkansans' access to Medicaid under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
"I sincerely, on both a personal and professional level, really regret Dan having to go," Gibson said.
Bobbitt, who could not be reached for an interview Monday, said in a printed statement that Rahn "epitomizes professionalism."
"In the end, he will be impossible to replace, but the next leader will inherit a much-changed and improved institution," Bobbitt said. "His legacy extends well beyond the buildings of UAMS and the many colleagues he's led there, as he has also been a tireless advocate for improved health for all Arkansans."
UAMS officials said Rahn led efforts to improve efficiency, saving more than $100 million.
Rahn oversaw facilities expansions throughout the state, including a health and wellness center on 12th Street in Little Rock, the Center for Pacific Islander Health in Fayetteville and a UAMS campus in Northwest Arkansas. Medical centers in Texarkana, Jonesboro and Fort Smith were opened or upgraded. The university's hospital became the state's only level one trauma center for adults, the highest designation, Taylor said.
"The future success of the institution is going to hinge on leading positive change in our health system," Rahn said. "It requires a cultural change in health care and broad partnerships."
Rahn has advised Gov. Asa Hutchinson and former Gov. Mike Beebe on health policy, including serving on Hutchinson's Advisory Council for Medicaid Reform.
Rahn is the system's fourth "chancellor" since it was reorganized in 1975. The 137-year-old system, founded by eight doctors as a medical school in the 19th century, counted 14 different leaders before that transition.
In a memo to students and faculty on Monday, Rahn said Bobbitt will appoint a national search committee.
"I will be working closely with leadership to ensure a smooth transition," Rahn said.
A Section on 09/20/2016