Dunn right to pursue WMU medical school
The first idea of a medical school at Western Michigan University came in Fall 2008, when President Dunn announced his commission of medical school accreditation consultants.
The notion of cooperative efforts from Borgess and Bronson Hospitals to support such a facility has reached a status of small time controversy in Kalamazoo.
In the opinion section of the Kalamazoo Gazette appeared a bulleted list of reasons that such a facility is nonsensical. Its author raised a valid point stating that a new medical school would be expensive.
However, the report commissioned by President Dunn presented an opposing argument of its own that has convinced the to stand behind President Dunn in his efforts to improve and empower WMU.
Claims that establishing a medical school would lower the quality of education for students by diverting money from other programs are at best unsubstantiated. There is no talk of such actions and an attempt to undertake them in the midst of a global financial crisis is frankly unlikely.
More likely is an outcome that would greatly benefit students. By itself a medical school raises the prestige of a university and thereby increases the value of every degree earned at WMU.
A medical school provides an array of research opportunities that will no doubt spill into related departments such as biology, nursing and other fields of health care. The experience provided by such positions will put WMU graduates at an advantage when applying to graduate schools and for employment.
The idea that WMU does not have the resources to fund new research is a false conjecture. Research at a medical school is capable of funding itself through outside grants.
A medical school will also bring an expansive new crop of intellectuals to WMU.
Although we are facing economic woes, a medical school at WMU could revitalize our city.
The Western Herald has chosen to support President Dunn in his efforts to reach that end.
Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=7065
Posted by heraldstaff
on Aug 9 2009. Filed under Editorial, Local, Opinion.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
http://HeraldStaff
Loading ...
This is absurd, WMU just raised tuition because they cannot balance their budget and instead of being able to pay for what they have they want to continue to expand. Of course it will cost the student’s money, where else are these millions going to come from?
A medical school for WMU is a terrible idea, it will not raise the prestige of western, there is barely any prestige here, MSU has had a medical school for over 30 years and they are still regarded as being barely better then vets.
Western needs to get its current house in order before it tries to expand, otherwise it is just stupidity that will only hurt the students at large. It will not bring intellectuals to the area, anyone that has any degree of intelligence would go to U of M and get a real medical degree.
Western should stick with what it has and improve those programs, such as Teaching, Aviation, Paper Science, Languages, Study Abroad, these are the programs WMU is known for. But it is clear the administration could care less about what actually impacts the students and could only care about what benefits them personally.
I just Googled for medical education and Got your Page.Your Post Dunn right to pursue WMU medical school « Western Herald is really Nice.Thanks