New hires announced for Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine

Four administrative staff members have been hired for the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education and the proposed Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Chaffee Crossing.

The recent additions are Dr. Natasha Bray, associate dean of Clinical Sciences, Dr. Ross Longley, associate dean of Bio-Medical Sciences, Dr. Lydia McDonald, associate dean of Student Affairs, and Dr. Keith Fudge, director of Marketing.

Bray served as a vice president and chief medical officer, Broward Health Accountable Care Organization of the North Broward Hospital District in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. She earned degrees from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Nova Southeastern University.

Bray also served as the chief intern physician at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and was a resident physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Affiliated Hospital.

Longley comes to the Fort Smith community from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Fla, where he served as the director of Problem Based Learning and coordinator of Research Programs. Longley has earned degrees from the University of Oklahoma and has performed post-doctoral work with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, in Oklahoma City.

McDonald comes to the area from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock where she held the position of assistant dean of Student Affairs in the College of Public Health in which she served as senior student affairs officer where she oversaw admissions, student recruitment, and the office of the registrar. McDonald has also held positions with Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas, and has earned degrees from Valdosta State College, the University of South Dakota, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Fudge earned degrees from Arkansas Tech University and from the University of Mississippi. Most recently, he served as associate professor of English, and as department head of English, Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. At UAFS, Fudge also held the position of NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative and received national recognition for his work by the NCAA. Fudge has also held faculty positions at Henderson State University, and the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts.

“We are fortunate to have been able to bring these people on board. They are a group with diverse skills and abilities as educators and as professionals who share our vision for the institution and its role in furthering health care for the region,” Kyle Parker, president and CEO of ACHE, said in a statement.