Dan Rahn, M.D., an experienced health system administrator and nationally recognized researcher and clinician, on November 1 became the fourth chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Rahn was unanimously selected in March to lead the institution by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. He had been president of the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) and senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia since 2001. In that position, Rahn was responsible for Georgia’s major public health science center, including schools of Medicine, Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Studies and Nursing.

As UAMS chancellor, Rahn leads Arkansas' only academic health sciences center, which encompasses patient care, education, research and outreach resources at locations across the state.

“I believe there is no greater asset for a state than an academic health center like UAMS that is fully engaged in improving the quality of life through its missions,” Rahn said. “I hope to build on the momentum that has pushed UAMS to produce more health professionals, care for more patients, conduct more research and create programs that serve the needs of Arkansans and patients from around the world.”

Rahn succeeds I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., who retired Oct. 31 after serving nine years as UAMS chancellor and before that, serving 14 years as dean of the UAMS College of Medicine. Wilson will remain at UAMS as chancellor emeritus.

Rahn received his medical degree in 1976 from the Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut, graduating with honors. He served his residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital, followed by a fellowship in rheumatology. He is a nationally known expert on Lyme disease.

He began his professional career in 1979 at Yale University School of Medicine, where he was director of the Lyme Disease Program, director of clinical training in rheumatology and director of faculty practice for the Department of Internal Medicine.

James L. Dennis, M.D., became the first chancellor of UAMS in 1975. Prior to that time, the executive officer of the institution was known as the vice president for health sciences or the vice president for medical education and hospitals. Harry Ward, M.D., succeeded Dennis as chancellor in 1979, serving until his retirement in 2000. Ward served as chancellor emeritus until his death in 2008.