UAMS College of Medicine Celebrates Excellence at 2024 Dean’s Honor Day

By Tamara Robinson

The College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) celebrated the excellence of faculty and staff at its annual Dean’s Honor Day ceremony on April 16, presenting awards for teaching, clinical care, research, administration, humanism and service.

The ceremony culminated with the presentation of the Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award to Eduardo R. “Eddie” Ochoa Jr., M.D., a professor in the Department of Pediatrics who has strived to improve the health and quality of life of children in Arkansas and nationally since joining the faculty in 1999. In addition to pediatrics-focused leadership, Ochoa’s service has included impactful roles such as helping the college identify and select promising future physicians as a multi-term member and chair of the college’s medical student admissions committee.

Ochoa’s nominator, Chenia Eubanks, M.D., MPH, associate professor and chief of the Section of Community Pediatrics, described the former section chief as a “fierce, steely advocate for children, their health and their future.” She noted Ochoa’s work in research, advocacy and policy work, as well as clinical care, to reduce disparities and eliminate barriers to good health.

UAMS College of Medicine Celebrates Excellence at 2024 Dean’s Honor Day