Dr. William Campbell Little, a distinguished cardiologist and academic leader, died unexpectedly on July 9, 2015, at the age of 65 years. Throughout his career Bill was widely regarded as a master clinician, educator, researcher, and mentor. He had been a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association since 2006 and at the time of his death was Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the inaugural recipient of the Patrick Lehan Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine.
A native of Ohio, Bill Little was born May 1, 1950, in Cleveland, educated at Oberlin College, and awarded the doctor of medicine degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He trained in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Virginia and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, respectively. Subsequently, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, in 1981, and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1984. Bill was recruited to Wake Forest University School of Medicine (formerly Bowman Gray School of Medicine) in 1986, and promoted to the rank of Professor and Chief of Cardiology in 1989. He served as Chief of Cardiology from 1990 to 2013, and Vice Chair of Internal Medicine from 2003 to 2013.
Dr. Little was recruited to lead the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in July 2013, and although he served in that role for only 2 years, he made a number of significant contributions that advanced the department’s mission and academic standing. Bill successfully navigated the department through a difficult period of change of institutional leadership and business practices and demonstrated a level of business acumen that skillfully anchored the department to its historic aspirations to address the health and health disparities of the state by producing outstanding internists. In so doing, he encouraged and retained faculty, began to recruit new faculty, and expanded existing programs. Bill Little was respected as an optimistic, honest, and supportive leader.
Dr. Little’s research throughout his career promoted the redefinition of atherosclerosis as a systemic illness and paved the way to the wider use of aspirin and statins. He also more clearly elucidated the pathophysiology, natural history, and treatment of heart failure. An extraordinarily productive scholar, he published more than 260 peer-reviewed articles, of which 27 have been cited more than 100 times by other authors.
For these accomplishments, Dr. Little was the recipient of numerous honors including the Laennec Master Clinician Award from the American Heart Association and the Tinsley Harrison Award from the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. In addition to election to membership in the American Clinical and Climatological Association, Bill was also inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians and served on the American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Board in Cardiovascular Medicine from 2005 to 2015 and was Chair of the Cardiology Board and a member of the ABIM Board of Directors from 2011 to 2015.
Dr. Little was the devoted husband of Constance Loydall Little, to whom he was married for 40 years, and is also survived by son John, daughter-in-law Gail, and their children Anna and Luke of Greenville, North Carolina; daughter Elizabeth Glancy and son-in-law Michael and their daughter Ella of Baltimore, Maryland; and his brother Edwin Little of Gilroy, California.
We, his colleagues and friends of the ACCA, celebrate the extraordinary academic career of William C. Little, MD, and his many contributions as a clinician scientist, consummate teacher and physician, and exceptional role model.