Seven Named to UAMS Foundation Fund Board

By Benjamin Waldrum

The board supports and assists UAMS leadership in delivering the resources necessary for UAMS to achieve its vision and goals. Members can serve up to three terms for a total of nine years.

“The UAMS Foundation Fund Board offers valuable support to UAMS as we strive to improve the health, health care and well-being of Arkansans,” said Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D. “We are grateful to these individuals for volunteering their time and expertise.”

  • Mike Beebe of Searcy, Arkansas governor from 2007-2015, serves as of counsel for Roberts Law Firm, P.A. He also served as 20 years as a state senator and four years as attorney general. He is the chair of the Central Arkansas General Hospital Board of Directors and is a member of the Tyson Foods Board of Directors.
  • Mary Beth Brooks of Fayetteville is the retired CEO of The Bank of Fayetteville. She serves as a member of the Northwest Arkansas Council and the Fayetteville Public Schools Foundation Board, and is an advisory board member for the Yvonne Richardson Community Center.
  • Michael Gibson of Heber Springs is a retired Osceola District Court judge and former chairman of the Arkansas State Board of Law Examiners. He is a member of the Judd Hill Foundation Board of Trustees, the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Community Advisory Board, and the UAMS Regional Programs Northeast Advisory Board.
  • Sonja Yates Hubbard of Texarkana, Texas, is the CEO of E-Z Mart Inc. She serves as chairman of the Arkansas Research Alliance Board of Trustees, director of the Texas Petroleum and Convenience Store Association and serves on the Wadley Regional Medical Center Systems Board of Directors. She is a former board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis – Little Rock Branch.
  • Cindy Pugh of Little Rock is the retired director of employment for Alltel Wireless. She was a UAMS Foundation Fund Board member from 2006-2015 and has chaired the UAMS Foundation Fund Board Philanthropy Committee since 2014. She is also a former board member of the Arkansas Community Foundation and past president of the Junior League of Little Rock.
  • Dewitt Smith III of Bella Vista is the president and CEO of Devereux Management Company. He serves on the Washington Regional Medical Foundation Board of Directors and the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business Garrison Financial Institute Advisory Board, and is a commissioner for the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.
  • Joe Clay Young IV of Jonesboro is the vice president-financial advisory for Merrill Lynch and owner of Young Investment Company LLC, which is active in revitalizing downtown Jonesboro. He is a member of the City of Jonesboro Comprehensive Planning Advisory Commission – Jonesboro Vision 2030 Team.

“The UAMS Foundation Fund Board is thankful these individuals are volunteering their time and advocating in their communities the services UAMS provides in education, health care and research,” said Lance Burchett, executive director of the UAMS Foundation Fund Board and vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement. “We are honored they have agreed to serve, and we look forward to their continued partnership and guidance.”

The UAMS Foundation Fund Board is comprised of business and community leaders and philanthropists who serve as ambassadors and raise public awareness of the unique, critical role that UAMS has in Arkansas. The UAMS Foundation Fund is a subsidiary of the University of Arkansas Foundation Inc., and its board was established in 1976 as the UAMS Development Council.