When Tim Bowen graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 2006, he was armed with a bachelor’s degree in nuclear medicine and a plan for his future.
“Before I graduated, I set a goal to work in health care administration,” Bowen said. Bowen always knew he wanted to work in health care, but his senior year sparked an interest in health care administration.
UCA partners with Baptist Health Medical Center for nuclear medicine students. While studying there, he noticed each department or area of the hospital seemed to be its own separate business. It was here that he became “fascinated with the uniqueness of the hospital environment.”
Bowen worked at Mena Regional Health System in his hometown after graduation. While working in Mena, he received the C.E. Melville Young Administrator of the Year Award from the Arkansas Hospital Association. He also earned a Master of Business Administration at John Brown University in Siloam Springs.
After Mena, he served as president of a hospital in northeast Oklahoma. He and his family moved back to Conway in September 2017 after he was named vice president and administrator of Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway.
“The moves that we have made up to this point from starting in southwest Arkansas to Oklahoma to now coming here were all in an effort to get back here, which is where we wanted to spend the rest of our lives,” Bowen said.
As a UCA graduate, Bowen said the University gave him the foundation to achieve his dreams.
“You developed a relationship with your professors. For me, it was an easy transition going from high school to college because you kind of felt that support and love from the school,” Bowen said. “When employers see that name for education, they know the individual has gotten a quality education and that the individual is well prepared for the workforce.”
Since returning to Conway, Bowen and his wife, Natalie, and their son and daughter, look forward to becoming more involved with the community and UCA.
“For everybody, they have that dream job. They have that dream community,” Bowen said. “For my wife and I, we set that goal professionally and for the community.”