New KU Med Salina Dean

There is a new leader at the KU School of Medicine in Salina, and it’s a familiar face.

Scott Owings, M.D., associate professor of family medicine and associate dean for clinical sciences on the Salina campus of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, has been named that campus’s dean, effective June 1st. Tyler Hughes, M.D., who has served as dean since 2023, will retire.

“Dr. Owings is well positioned to step into the role of campus dean,” said Akinlolu O. Ojo, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, executive dean, KU School of Medicine. “He played an instrumental role in establishing the Salina campus and has been an engaged leader since its inception.”

Owings completed medical school at KU School of Medicine on the Wichita campus in 2002, followed by a residency in family medicine at Smoky Hill, where he served as chief resident. He was recruited to join the KU School of Medicine faculty after residency. He served as associate director of the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency program until 2016 and directed the rural track program in Salina prior to the opening of the Salina campus in 2011.

Owings also has served as director of the Lukert Academic Society and associate dean for clinical experiences. In addition to his teaching and administrative roles in the medical school, he serves as medical director for the Salina Regional Health Center Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit and as deputy coroner for Saline County.

Ojo noted that Hughes had been a successful leader for the Salina campus of KU School of Medicine.

“Dr. Hughes has set the campus on a trajectory of excellence, making a tangible impact reflected in student perceptions of the learning environment,” Ojo said.

“During his tenure as dean, Hughes’ efforts to bolster the campus infrastructure, strengthen relationships between students and administration and enhance cross-campus collaborations were transformative,” Ojo added. “He successfully recruited an associate dean for foundational sciences and a new director of medical education and established a campus-specific forum to facilitate communication between faculty and students.”

Hughes joined the KU School of Medicine faculty in 1999 as a community-based faculty preceptor before he was recruited to serve as the director of medical education on the Salina campus in 2016. He practiced general surgery in McPherson, Kansas, for over 20 years and distinguished himself as an outstanding clinical educator and mentor. He finished a term as first vice president of the American College of Surgeons in October 2024, a prestigious honor accorded to only the most eminent surgeons in the country.

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