College of Health Professions Scholarship Reception Recognizes Student Success, Donors

View Larger Image
news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured.jpg 2500w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-300×169.jpg 300w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-1024×576.jpg 1024w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-768×432.jpg 768w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-1536×864.jpg 1536w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-2048×1152.jpg 2048w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-960×540.jpg 960w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-560×315.jpg 560w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-400×225.jpg 400w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-320×180.jpg 320w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-512×288.jpg 512w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-375×211.jpg 375w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-750×422.jpg 750w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-1140×641.jpg 1140w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-1320×742.jpg 1320w, https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-150×84.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px” data-attachment-id=”167355″ src=”https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured.jpg” data-orig-size=”2500,1406″ data-comments-opened=”” data-image-meta=”{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Evan Lewis","camera":"NIKON Z 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1756427828","copyright":"Evan Lewis\/UAMS","focal_length":"24","iso":"8000","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1","keywords":"Array"}” data-image-title=”CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured” data-image-description=”<p>College of Health Professions, student scholarship recipients gather on the staircase in the Bruce Commons are of the Rahn Building.</p> ” data-medium-file=”https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-300×169.jpg” data-large-file=”https://news.uams.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CHP-Scholarship-Ceremony-2025-featured-1024×576.jpg”/>
College of Health Professions, student scholarship recipients gather on the staircase in the Bruce Commons are of the Rahn Building.

Image by Evan Lewis

Sept. 11, 2025 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Health Professions held its annual Scholarship Reception on the evening of Aug. 28, bringing together students, donors and faculty to celebrate students’ successes and the power of financial support in higher education.

This year’s event highlighted the remarkable generosity of donors and the tangible impact that scholarships have on students’ lives, awarding nearly $128,000 to 62 students — an increase from the previous year.

College of Health Professions Dean Susan Long kicked off the evening by acknowledging the increasing financial challenges that students face beyond just tuition and fees. She noted that scholarships play a crucial role in making college accessible and affordable, helping to alleviate the financial burdens that can often impede a student’s success.

Long pointed out the stark reality of student debt, stating that the average undergraduate student in the college carries about $35,000 in debt, while in-state graduate students face more than twice that amount at $78,000.

“Scholarships help to lessen the financial strain and contribute directly to the success of our students,” Long said, noting that the college’s growth in enrollment makes continued financial support even more important.

The reception also honored the namesakes and donors of the scholarships, including the Ronald H. Winters, Ph.D., Endowed Scholarship, the James O. Wear, Ph.D., Endowed Scholarship, and the Craig Gilliam Medical Laboratory Scientist Scholarship. The husband and two daughters of Ann Bowers Hurst also attended (Ann Bowers Hurst Scholarship) as well as the husband of the late Wanda L. Culbreth (Mrs. Wanda L. Culbreth Endowed Scholarship).

The Ronald H. Winters Ph.D. Endowed Scholarship was established in 2011 to honor the late Dean Emeritus Ronald H. Winters, who led the College of Health Professions for nearly 29 years and pioneered remote learning at UAMS. His wife, retired pharmacist Marsha Winters, Pharm.D., reflected on the purpose of the scholarship.

“I’m delighted to help as many students as we can,” Winters said. “The students to whom I’ve spoken are very appreciative. Often the scholarship funds have come when they had some kind of a speed bump in their lives, and this helped them over the bump. And then just the expenses of going to school, not only the tuition, but in health professions you have to have special clothing. They have to have other special equipment, over and above what your tuition covers.”

The James O. Wear Ph.D. Endowed Scholarship was established in 2011 in honor of James Wear, a professor and chair in the Department of Biomedical Instrumentation Technology for over two decades. Speaking at the reception, Wear shared his perspective on the importance of scholarships, recalling how in his time as a student, scholarships of several hundred dollars could cover almost all tuition costs.

“First, scholarships help you financially. Secondly, I hope they show that you have achieved some recognition,” Wear said. “I hope these scholarships are given because you’ve made progress, and you’re looking to the future. Give scholarships back to the college one day and help other students that come along.”

Phyllis Fields, M.Ed., the college’s associate dean for student affairs, announced the names of the scholarship recipients. Long presented them with certificates and recognized the donors at the reception in Bruce Commons in the Daniel W. Rahn Interprofessional Education Building on the Little Rock campus.

The Craig Gilliam Medical Laboratory Scientist Scholarship was founded in 2015 by Craig Gilliam, a 1979 graduate of the program who has dedicated more than 40 years to advancing infection control and prevention. The scholarship supports students in the medical laboratory sciences program. One of those students this year was Samantha Crosby, a senior in the Medical Laboratory Sciences bachelor’s degree program.

She said that the Gilliam scholarship funds are helping her to cover the cost of her health insurance for the semester and will allow her to reduce her work hours, which she currently splits between her part-time job at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and her unpaid school rotations.

“The scholarship has greatly reduced my stress for the semester,” Crosby said. “I’ll study better because I won’t have to worry about working as much.”