$1M gift to aid UAMS research
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has received a $1 million gift to create an endowed academic chair to help further research in cardiovascular medicine.
The gift comes from the Don and Carolyn Kirkpatrick family and the endowed academic chair will be named after the Kirkpatricks, who are both Faulkner County natives and graduates of Greenbrier High School.
Carolyn Kirkpatrick served for more than a decade as a member of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Community Advisory Board. She received the Jo Ellen Ford Distinguished Service Award in 2009.
Don Kirkpatrick, former owner of Quality Foods, was a leader in the poultry industry. He died in 2003.
The Kirkpatricks’ four children are Donna K. Isom, Deborah K. Makris, Gina K. Tappan and Don O. Kirkpatrick Jr.
“Don and Carolyn Kirkpatrick enjoyed a close relationship with both physicians and volunteers at UAMS and wanted to express their gratitude with a gift that would help advance the world-class cardiology care available at UAMS,” the university said in a news release.
The inaugural holder of the Don and Carolyn Kirkpatrick Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine will be Dr. J. Paul Mounsey, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine.
“We are grateful to the Kirkpatrick family for their generosity and this highly impactful gift,” said Dr. Susan S. Smyth, executive vice chancellor of UAMS and dean of the College of Medicine, in the news release. “Dr. Mounsey is providing visionary leadership for the UAMS Health Heart Center and our clinical services, cardiovascular education and training, and cardiology research initiatives. This endowment will provide crucial support for him and his outstanding team in all of these areas.”
Mounsey, a nationally recognized leader in electrophysiology, the study of heart rhythm issues. He joined UAMS in 2019 as director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine and director of the cardiovascular program at UAMS, according to the University.
“Our research includes prevention through community intervention for the underserved populations of rural Arkansas and the development of cutting-edge novel treatments for or patients with heart disease,” Mounsey said. “Our efforts will be transformed by this leadership gift from the Kirkpatrick family.”