Ray L. Watts

Ray L. Watts
Born Ray Lannom Watts
December 18, 1953
Birmingham, Alabama
Alma mater University of Alabama Birmingham
Washington University School of Medicine

Ray Lannom Watts (born December 18, 1953)[1] is the seventh president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Biography

A Birmingham native and graduate of West End High School, Watts earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering at UAB in 1976. Four years later, he graduated from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis as valedictorian of his class.

Watts completed a neurology residency, medical internship, and clinical fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by a two-year medical staff fellowship at the National Institutes of Health.

In 2010, Watts accepted the position of Senior Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine at UAB, and later was named to the James C. Lee Jr. Endowed Chair.[2] He then became UAB's seventh President.[3]

UAB Neurology

At UAB, Watts served as the John N. Whitaker Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology.[4] There he led the development of an interdisciplinary research program aimed at translating scientific breakthroughs into promising new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and played a key role in the establishment of the UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center.[5] He also was named president of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.

In 2007, Ray Watts was the lead author of the paper "Randomized, blind, controlled trial of transdermal rotigotine in early Parkinson disease" published in January 2007 in the journal Neurology,[6] and the second author of the paper "Transdermal Rotigotine Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Parkinson Disease" published in May 2007 in Archives of Neurology [7] (the first author, Jankovic, was the second author of the first published paper). The editor of Archives of Neurology, upon learning of the earlier publication, compared the two writings and deemed them to be "redundant publications...additional information [in the second publication] represents a minor contribution". The second paper cited the first paper in a late draft after questions about the methodology arose, but did not mention the similarity of the data .[8] In response, the authors of the papers stated that they strongly disagreed with the editor's conclusions, and believe the focus of the two papers are different. The authors also say that the primary author was not aware of the acceptance of the earlier paper during submission of the second paper. The authors state that the Neurology paper was accepted October 24, 2006, and the Archives paper was submitted in December 2006. The authors did admit "in retrospect, we should have notified the Archives about the complementary article in Neurology" .[9]

UAB Presidency

On January 15, 2015, a two-thirds majority of the UAB faculty senate voted no-confidence in the leadership of Ray Watts as president of the university.[10] The resolution stated that "decisions by President Ray Watts were exercised in a manner that demonstrates no respect for, or commitment to, shared governance" and that changes in academic operations, faculty benefits, and the disbanding of the UAB Football, Bowling, and Rifle teams were examples of this.[11] Additionally on March 23, 2015, UAB's National Alumni Society issued a statement of no confidence and demanded Watts' immediate resignation. [12]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Windsor, Matt (Spring 2013). "Opportunity of a Lifetime". UAB Magazine. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Ray Watts to lead medical education". UAB website. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ "UAB's 7th President". UAB website. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "UAB Names Watts as Chair of Neurology". UAB News Archive. University of Alabama at Birmingham. February 17, 2003. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "UAB Creates Comprehensive Neuroscience Center". UAB News Archive. University of Alabama at Birmingham. September 15, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ Watts, R. L.; Jankovic, J.; Waters, C.; Rajput, A.; Boroojerdi, B.; Rao, J. (January 2007). "Randomized, blind, controlled trial of transdermal rotigotine in early Parkinson disease". Neurology 68 (4): 272–276.
  7. ↑ Jankovic, J.; Watts, R. L.; Martin, W.; Boroojerdi, B. (May 2007). "Transdermal Rotigotine Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Parkinson Disease". Archives of Neurology 64 (5): 676–682.
  8. ↑ Rosenberg, Roger (December 2007). "Notice of Redundant Publication: "Transdermal Rotigotine: Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Parkinson Disease" (Arch Neurol. 2007;64[5]:676-682)". Archived of Neurology 64 (12): 1800–1801.
  9. ↑ Jankovic, J.; Watts, R. L.; Martin, W.; Boroojerdi, B. (December 2007). "Notice of Redundant Publication: "Transdermal Rotigotine: Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Parkinson Disease" (Arch Neurol. 2007;64[5]:676-682)—Reply". Archives of Neurology 64 (12): 1801.
  10. ↑ "UAB faculty senate votes no confidence in president Ray Watts". Fox 6 WBRC. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  11. ↑ "No confidence in Watts: UAB Faculty Senate passes resolution as football fallout continues". AL.com. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Call for President's Resignation". UAB NAS. Retrieved April 6, 2015.