Med School begins to take form

Fritz Klug
Western Herald

The process of creating a medical school at Western Michigan University continues in the new year as representatives from the university and local hospitals are going to meet with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in Chicago tomorrow.

If everything goes well, WMU President John Dunn said that the university will make an official filing for an application with the LCME and be under the their guidance in establishing the school. As of now, Dunn is the main point person for the school.

He said that there are four things he keeps as the pillars for the school. The first thing is to keep up the communication with the LCME. The second is to maintain the support of Borgess and Bronson Hospitals. The third is securing a dean and fourth is to raise money for the university.

The medical school will be a non-profit organization operating under the Board of Trustees. Dunn said that there are some questions on how that will be formulated once the application is submitted to the LCME and a dean is in place.

The school will also be private because hospitals have a lot of money invested in the third and fourth years of medical education (the residency), so WMU has to fund the first two years.

“We have so many assets in place already,” Dunn said.

Kalamazoo is a life sciences city, he added, and a medical school will add significantly to the legacy established by Pharmacia & Upjohn (now Phizer) and the two local hospitals.

Everything from curriculum, faculty (including local doctors), financial aid, IT infrastructure, building, and the process of selecting students has to be decided on.

Dunn said the money raised for the medical school will not detract from other fundraising operations. Fundraising will come from private individuals as well as foundations to help fund the creation of the school and financial aid for students.

“It’s a game changer for the university,” Dunn said, “It has a significant impact on the ability of the life sciences in Kalamazoo.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Jan 12 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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