Debra H. Fiser, MD

Debra H. Fiser, MD, an Arkansas native, has been named dean of the UAMS College of Medicine.

Fiser, professor and chairwoman of the Department of Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine, joined the UAMS faculty in 1981. She became department chairwoman in 1995. The Department of Pediatrics is the college's largest department with more than 195 faculty and 950 professionals, paraprofessionals and support staff. It is based at longtime UAMS clinical and teaching affiliate, Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Fiser, who is the first woman to serve as the UAMS College of Medicine dean, will assume the deanship Sept. 1. She succeeds Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who has been the college's dean since January 2002. Reece resigned effective Sept. 1 to become vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and dean of the School of Medicine.