‘Changemakers’ Keeton, Thames to be lionized at inaugural gala

Published on Monday, September 9, 2024

By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu and Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu

When Dr. James Keeton first met Suzan Thames, she was already good at getting people to listen to her – she was an audiologist after all.

Years later, as Keeton led the state’s only academic medical center, whenever there was a project to be funded or a service to sponsor, people were still listening to Suzan Thames.

“She made it easier to get things done, because, to this day, whenever she asks people to help the Medical Center, they trust her and just do it,” said Keeton, former University of Mississippi Medical Center vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine.

Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1 at the Country Club of Jackson, Keeton and Thames will be recognized at the inaugural Changemakers Gala for bringing positive change to UMMC, as well as to Mississippi and beyond.

Through their efforts on behalf of the Medical Center, Keeton, a respected physician and leader, and Thames, an unflagging fundraiser and philanthropist, often worked together to make a difference in the lives of Mississippians.

They are among the individuals the Changemakers Gala will highlight each year for exemplifying philanthropy, advocacy, innovation and leadership.

“I am so pleased that two such selfless people are receiving this well-deserved recognition,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, who succeeded Keeton in those roles.

“They have made a tremendous impact on the Medical Center and, together, on health care of the state’s most vulnerable population. They have meant so much to this institution and to our state. No one better embodies the title of ‘Changemaker’ than my trusted friends and colleagues, Jimmy Keeton and Suzan Thames.”

Funds raised through the Changemakers Gala will directly contribute to the programs and initiatives that Thames and Keeton have championed, said Meredith Aldridge, executive director of development for UMMC.

“It can hardly get better than this,” Keeton said, regarding his selection as a Changemakers laureate, “to be so honored in the same breath as my good friend, Suzan, who has meant so much to this institution.”

Thames, recognized nationally for her fundraising work, said, “UMMC has granted me opportunities to get to know patients, interact and learn from physicians, staff and to cherish relationships of a lifetime.

“So, yes – I am so happy and honored to be named a Changemaker.”

Their careers, separately and jointly, drove many of the Medical Center’s momentous accomplishments.

Dr. James E. Keeton

In Columbus, where he grew up, every day little Jimmy Keeton’s bare feet took him across the street from school to his home, where he ate lunch.

In spite of what he calls his “Leave It to Beaver” life in Lowndes County, he was often sick for several years, meaning he was around a lot of doctors – one reason he decided he wanted to be one.

Brought up just one block from the local Y, he decided that if he didn’t get into medical school, he would be a YMCA director. He got into medical school, in 1961, and one day he would lead it.

From July 2009 until February 2015, Keeton served as vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the UMMC School of Medicine.

“When I took the job of vice chancellor, there was already a great leadership team in place, eager to continue our business of serving everybody,” said Keeton, who had been chief of staff under Dr. Dan Jones and served as interim vice chancellor after Jones had moved to Oxford.

“I was privileged to work so well with Dr. Jones and my eventual successor, Dr. LouAnn Woodward, to create change. It’s a special place, and I was proud to serve.”

Keeton spent much of his career at UMMC, where he also did a rotating internship and residencies in general surgery and urology before undergoing further training in urology at the Hospital for Sick Children in London.

He joined UMMC’s surgery faculty for two years, starting in 1973, then worked for more than 25 years in private practice in Jackson until taking over in 2000 as clinical director of UMMC’s pediatric surgical services.

The first University of Mississippi undergraduate to be appointed UMMC’s vice chancellor had already stacked up years of experience in a variety of health care settings: the VA Medical Center in Jackson, community hospitals, and the Medical Corps for two years as a lieutenant commander in the Navy, as well as in England, private practice, and UMMC, where he had also served as the first-ever associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs.

Among the major achievements during his tenure as vice chancellor was the construction of a new School of Medicine building, which opened in 2017, enabling the expansion of the medical school class size and the training of more physicians.

There is much more: the construction of, or initial work on, a new home for University Heart, the Translational Research Center, the Blair E. Batson Tower expansion, and the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi.

Ten years ago, the Medical Center signed a formal agreement with the Mayo Clinic, benefitting both institutions in the areas of clinical trials, medical research and education. “Mississippi’s own Jim Barksdale, the celebrated philanthropist and entrepreneur, was critical to helping us form this relationship,” Keeton said.

Under Keeton’s leadership, the Medical Center brought back the liver transplant program after a 22-year hiatus.

After retiring from UMMC in January 2017, Keeton was awarded emeritus status in those roles and as professor of surgery and pediatrics.

He is especially proud of having been part of an institution that serves people from all walks of life.

“At the Medical Center, you can go into any clinic or waiting room and truly see a snapshot of Mississippi – black, white, rich, poor, from a city or farm, we care for everyone,” he said.

“It was a privilege, every day, to work there. Because of my time at the Medical Center, I made so many dear friends and had so many wonderful experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Not bad for someone who almost became a YMCA director instead.”

Suzan B. Thames

For most of her life, Suzan Thames has had her heart and hand in health care – not least of all as a health caregiver.

Having earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi and a master’s degree in speech pathology and audiology at Tulane University, she completed a fellowship in behavioral disabilities at the University of Wisconsin, then worked for 34 years as a speech pathologist.

In Jackson, she had grown up in a household committed to helping others. “Philanthropy has always been a core value and guiding principle in my life that my family shared with me throughout my childhood,” she said.

“The values and needs of UMMC and ours align, and we see that UMMC is the way to make an impactful and materially positive change in Mississippi's healthcare landscape.”

Thames’ volunteer career with the Medical Center covers decades. Children’s of Mississippi has been close to her heart, and she has supported the state’s only children’s hospital from the start.

“My first organized group attempt was made when working with my college sorority to fundraise for a children’s cancer organization,” Thames said.

“Little did I know at the time, but I was developing skills that would be utilized throughout my life. I have also never forgotten the lesson of what all can be accomplished if one just stands back and watches when you mobilize a group of eager women to achieve a goal.”

She was reminded of this again as a member of the Junior League of Jackson in the 1980s and was working as a volunteer to help children with cancer.

“It became very evident that a separate facility for children with cancer and compromised immune systems was urgently needed,” she said. The Junior League raised the $2 million that was needed in 1987. Four years later, the Junior League of Jackson Mississippi Children’s Cancer Clinic opened.

Shortly afterward, Dr. Owen “Bev” Evans, chair of pediatrics at the time, approached Thames about starting a children’s hospital support group for patients and their families. Friends of Children’s Hospital was born, as was its fundraising campaign that resulted in the opening of the new Batson Hospital for Children in 1997.

Thames served as chair of Friends for 20 years: “one of the brightest experiences of my life,” she said.

In 2016, the time had come for the children’s hospital to expand, Thames said. “Our UMMC was blessed beyond measure with the direction and loving guidance of Kathy and Joe Sanderson, who led the $100 million fundraising campaign to build our new, state-of-the art Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower.”

After the Sanderson Tower opened in 2020, Thames turned her attention toward updating the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. “Honoring [UMMC professor emeritus of pediatrics] Dr. Jeanette Pullen with the Dr. D. Jeanette Pullen Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Research Laboratory and Office inside the renovated center is a tribute to her,” Thames said.

“She remains one of the most dominant and influential inspirations to childhood cancer research.”

Thames has also been instrumental in bringing in more than $38 million in community and private donor support for The MIND (Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia) Center, a leader in Alzheimer’s research.

“Having lost my mother and my sister to Alzheimer’s disease, I know the toll this can take on a family,” said Thames,chairof The MIND Center’s Community Advisory Board. “My husband Tommy and I knew that we had to help other families battling these tragic diseases.

Ambassador John Palmer’s influence helped The MIND Center take off, she said.

The Thames family also supports the UMMC MIND Center-Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, Thames said. "We eagerly anticipate raising funding for the MIND Center’s new capital project, the future Fred R. Adams, Jr. MIND Center and Geriatric Clinic."

In 2011, Thames was named Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year by the National Philanthropy Association. At that event, the Suzan B. Thames Endowed Chair of Pediatrics established in her name at UMMC was announced. Held by Dr. Mary Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics, the Thames Chair was endowed by contributions of $2.1 million from friends and family who were inspired by her lifetime of service to UMMC.

Sponsorships for the inaugural Changemakers Gala are available by visiting www.umc.edu/changemakers. For more information, email mrobinson6@umc.edu or call 601-984-1106.