Senator Irvin Pleased with UAMS Choosing Dr. Barnes as Interim Chancellor
June 30, 2025
LITTLE ROCK — C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been named interim chancellor of the university and will begin July 11.
Barnes replaces Cam Patterson, M.D., who served as chancellor and UAMS Health chief executive officer for seven years before announcing in June his desire to step down for personal and medical reasons.
Senator Missy Irvin of Mountain View, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, praised the decision.
“Dr. Lowery Barnes is the perfect choice for Arkansas’ flagship medical university and hospital,” Irvin said.
“He knows and understands the healthcare challenges in rural Arkansas. I have a unique relationship with Dr. Barnes as he took over my father’s orthopaedic practice in Heber Springs, AR upon my father’s retirement,” Irvin said.
“I am excited to work closely with Dr. Barnes on increasing access to UAMS for our physicians’ patients in rural Arkansas,” Irvin said. “I know Dr. Barnes will continue the work under Dr. Cam Patterson and Dr. Michael Birrer in achieving National Cancer Institute Designation for the Winthrop P Rockefeller Cancer Institute, an initiative by our Republican Women’s Legislative Caucus with the UAMS Board of Trustees, the Advisory Board of the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute, our colleagues in the General Assembly and Governors Hutchinson and Sanders.”
“He understands Arkansas because he studied and trained in our state,” Irvin said. “This gives him the unique ability to make great improvements for our entire state in maternal healthcare, primary care and expanding access to specialty physicians.”
“Dr. Barnes was the lead voice in expanding UAMS into Northwest Arkansas and bringing excellent orthopaedic care to the University of Arkansas,” she said.
“I know he will work closely with our new Alice Walton School of Medicine, the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University and the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Fort Smith to fully integrate and develop healthcare to a new level for Arkansas,” Irvin said.
In the 2025 regular session Irvin was the main sponsor of the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act.
University of Arkansas System President Jay B. Silveria said the planning process to begin a national search to find UAMS’s next permanent leader is underway. An advisory search committee of UAMS and community leaders, with a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas has been named.
Barnes is a fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint reconstruction and replacement surgery of the hip and knee. He joined UAMS in 2014 as professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. In 2017, he was invested in the Carl L. Nelson, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery. He also serves as the director of the Musculoskeletal Service Line at UAMS Health. Barnes is founding director of The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at UAMS, a hospital located on UAMS’ Little Rock campus that brings world-class orthopaedic, spine and pain experts together under one roof to provide the best possible care focused on achieving the best possible results. The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital opened in 2023.
“My passion for serving patients has always extended beyond my immediate work to a drive and ambition to make UAMS and this state better places,” Barnes said in the UAMS news release announcing his appointment.
“I’m honored to have been considered to take on this challenge and to be trusted by President Silveria and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas. I look forward to serving in a greater capacity during this time of transition. I believe UAMS is an extraordinary institution with programs reaching all four corners of our state. Working under the transformative power of the UA System, we will continue to expand our efforts to improve the health, health care and wellbeing of all Arkansans,” Barnes said.
Widely recognized as one of the foremost joint replacement experts in the world, Barnes has made substantial contributions to research focused on the hip and knee, having published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles. He lectures nationally and internationally on total joint replacement surgery and holds seven patents for orthopaedic surgery devices and implants.
After graduating with honors from the UAMS College of Medicine, Barnes remained at UAMS for his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery. He completed an Adult Reconstructive Surgery and Arthritis Surgery Fellowship at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston. He was then selected to participate in the prestigious John N. Insall Traveling Fellowship as well as an AO/ASIF (Association for the Study of Internal Fixation) Adult Orthopaedic Fellowship at Inselspital in Bern, Switzerland.
Barnes went into practice as a joint replacement surgeon at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics, later becoming its president and managing partner for more than a decade. He’s held numerous leadership roles in professional societies, including serving as the president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). He has also served as president of the Society for Arthritic Joint Surgery, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association, the Southern Orthopaedic Association, and the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society.
Barnes is actively involved in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, (AAOS) Association of Bone and Joint Surgeonswater, and the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty. He is also a member of prestigious Knee Society and Hip Society and serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals.
The UAMS Chancellor Search Advisory Committee includes:
Dr. William Steinbach, Chair of Pediatrics, UAMS College of Medicine (committee chair)
Dr. Ahmed Abuabdou, Chief Clinical Officer, UAMS Medical Center
Ryan Cork, Vice Chancellor, UAMS Northwest Campus
Andy Davis, Vice Chancellor for Government Relations
John Erck, Vice Chancellor for Advancement
Dr. Molly Gathright, Executive Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, UAMS College of Medicine
Dr. Laura James, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research
Lester Matlock, Jr., Chair, UAMS Board of Advisors
Dana Metcalf, Chair, UAMS House of Delegates
Dr. Claude Pirtle, President, Heartland Whole Health Institute
Natalie Rockefeller, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Board of Advisors
Dr. Cindy Stowe, Dean, UAMS College of Pharmacy
Dr. Christopher Walter, President, UAMS Academic Senate
Jeremy Wilson, UA Board of Trustees
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