For the third year in a row, the Memphis Business Journal has included Peter Buckley, MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, on its Power 100 list.
Compiled by the Memphis Business Journal’s editorial team, the list profiles the 100 most influential people in business in Memphis and the Mid-South. It recognizes outstanding leaders from sports, education, business, politics, health care, and community service.
Chancellor Buckley has made a strong push to raise awareness of the contributions UT Health Science Center makes to Memphis through the university’s affiliations with all major hospitals in the city. The majority – 65% – of the 2024 finalists for MBJ’s Health Care Heroes Awards are affiliated with UT Health Science Center, as are 62% of the local physicians listed in Memphis Magazine as Top Doctors using data from the national health care research firm Castle Connolly. Additionally, UT Health Science Center continues to improve the health of the community through outreach efforts such as the UTHSC Health Hub in Uptown, the new Health Hub in Soulsville, and ShelbyCares on 3rd.
While based in Memphis, UT Health Science Center’s partnerships and campuses across the state work together toward the university’s statewide vision: Healthy Tennesseans. Thriving Communities. UT Health Science Center also takes great pride in its role as part of the University of Tennessee System of higher education institutions.
“Memphis is our home; Tennessee is our campus,” Chancellor Buckley said. “Through our vital partnerships in Memphis and across the state of Tennessee, we improve the health and well-being of Tennesseans.”
In addition to being an academic leader, Chancellor Buckley is an accomplished psychiatrist and international expert in schizophrenia. Since joining UT Health Science Center in 2022, he has been honored with a Leadership Award from the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry and received distinguished service membership from the Association of American Medical Colleges for his exemplary service to academic medicine. On top of his national service as chair of Intealth’s Board of Directors, Chancellor Buckley serves alongside other Memphis leaders as a board member for Memphis Tomorrow, the Memphis Medical District Collaborative, and the Memphis Chamber of Commerce.
“There are lots of ways to be powerful,” MBJ Editor-in-Chief Greg Akers wrote in his introduction to the list. “There are public officials and legislators whose decisions, policies, and leverage can change the course of the community. There are activists whose passion is laser-focused on matters of wide import, and nonprofit advocates whose effectiveness surpasses their limited resources. There are brand representatives who are the face of their organization, and representatives of brands that are the face of the city.”
Dr. Buckley and all the Power 100 honorees were celebrated Thursday evening at a private event at the Orpheum Theatre. They are also profiled in the MBJ’s January 24 weekly edition.