[5] They purchased the Sperindio Restaurant and Hotel building on West Second Street in Little Rock for $5,000 to house the school, which opened on Oct. 7, 1879 with 22 students.

[6] The six-story, $450,000 structure gave the School of Medicine a boost in clinical instruction of medical students.

In 1970, the School of Health Related Professions was approved by the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees.

He was originally named vice president of health sciences in 1970, becoming chancellor in 1975 when the title of the institution's executive officer was changed.

Harry P. Ward succeeded Dennis, served 21 years as chancellor and is credited with leading UAMS’ transformation from a small medical school with a charity hospital to an academic health center and research leader.

[7] Under Rahn's leadership and facing a budget deficit, UAMS launched efficiency measures that saved more than $100 million.

[8] Just prior to his retirement, UAMS named in his honor the Daniel W. Rahn Interprofessional Education Building, which houses the administrative offices for the colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and the university's interprofessional education program.

It combines its education efforts with the patient care resources of a hospital and outpatient center and the specialized care and research at the following institutes: John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital-VA Medical Center (Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System) and Arkansas Children's Hospital are affiliates of UAMS and contracts UAMS's physicians for clinical services.

The community outreach efforts of UAMS include eight regional centers[13] in Fayetteville, Pine Bluff, El Dorado, Texarkana, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Helena, and Magnolia; networks of senior health centers and centers for young children with special health care needs; and interactive video education and medical consultation services to community hospitals around the state.

UAMS is the state's largest basic and applied research institution, with a total budget of $1.3 billion and more than $100 million in annual research funding, grants and contracts and internationally renowned programs in multiple myeloma, aging and other areas.

[14] In 2003, UAMS implemented a telehealth program to enhance access to care for high-risk pregnant women living in rural areas.

UAMS is ranked in the top 20% of all US Colleges & Universities in research funding from Federal Government.

[20] Clinical researchers at UAMS performed the first outpatient bone marrow transplant in the US, as well as the first gene therapy for multiple myeloma in the US.

They are also home to a number of robotic, experimental, and advanced treatment facilities found nowhere else in the state of Arkansas.

[22] In 2004, UAMS embarked on the most significant expansion efforts in its history with a slate of projects to provide additional space for its education, patient care, research and outreach programs.

The 12-floor, $130 million, 330,000-square-foot (31,000 m2) addition, located just north of the existing 11 story 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) facility, allows the institute to treat more patients and host more research into new treatments.

[31] The $30.4 million addition was built on top of the existing four-story 96,000-square-foot (8,900 m2) building, established by a similar grant from the Donald W Reynolds Foundation in 2000.

[33] In 2021, UAMS broke ground on two new buildings on the main campus in Little Rock: a new radiation oncology and proton center[34] and a new surgical hospital.