He’s between 55 and 74, and either smokes now or kicked the habit within the previous 15 years. During the time he was a smoker, he went through at least a pack a day, for at least 30 years.

He can stroll on the Medical Center’s southeast side and glimpse Murrah High School and the old Bailey Junior High, where he studied as a teen growing up in Jackson. Other memories – such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa – by comparison seem a world away.

When members of the UMMC community last week heard from two longtime academic administrators at campus-wide town hall meetings, they walked out with a better understanding of the pair's ideas, goals and hopes for the Medical Center.

One of those physicians - Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC associate vice chancellor for health affairs and vice dean of the School of Medicine, and Dr. Stephen Spann, a veteran family medicine educator and chief medical officer at a John Hopkins Medicine International teaching hospital in the United Arab Emirates - this month will likely be named successor to Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs James Keeton, also the School of Medicine dean.

They emerged as finalists after an exhaustive and far-reaching search  by a committee facilitated by Dr. Patrick Smith, UMMC's chief faculty affairs officer, and his staff. The two candidates will be submitted unranked to University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones, who will present his final selection to the board of the state's Institutions of Higher Learning, possibly at the board's meeting Feb. 19. 

About 100 people were present for each of the two town hall meetings, and there was no shortage of questions for Spann and Woodward. Ole Miss Provost Morris Stocks introduced the candidates, who each gave a 20-minute presentation, followed by 40 minutes of questions ranging from how they'd support more interprofessional education to their plans for enhancing the Medical Center's research mission.

The Medical Center is proud to acknowledge those employees who will celebrate service anniversaries this week:

25 Years

Mary Albin, business operations manager, School of Medicine (Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences)
Ronny Bunn, carpenter, Building Maintenance (Carpenter Shop)
Allen Luttrell, technician, Environmental Services

20 Years

Kimberly Bunn, performance improvement analyst, Patient Financial Services

15 Years

Wayne Johnson, inpatient nurse, Batson Children’s Hospital (surgical suite)
Ryan Sturdivant, systems administrator, Information Systems

10 Years

Deidre Graham, dental assistant, School of Dentistry (Advanced General Dentistry)
Deborah Joiner, care coordinator nurse, School of Medicine (Cardiology)
Shandra Kelly, sponsored program administrator, School of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)

5 Years

Avondra Jackson, phlebotomist, Adult Hematology Lab
Dianna Patterson, pharmacist, Hospital Retail Pharmacy
Angie Rucker, clinical trials coordinator, School of Medicine (Rheumatology)
Dianne Schimmel, ambulatory nurse, School of Medicine (Dermatology)
Judith Sumrall, nurse anesthetist, School of Medicine (Anesthesiology)
Angel Thomas, end user compliance specialist, Information Systems

A number of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.