WILMINGTON — The UNC System’s coastal university wants to open a standalone medical school, hoping to bring and retain more doctors to southeastern North Carolina and alleviate a statewide shortage.
UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety presented before the UNC System Board of Governors educational planning committee Wednesday requesting its approval to begin developing a four-year medical degree with a three-year accelerated program.
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The committee did not vote on the proposal Wednesday; staff noted the matter was put forth for informational purposes only and would not be put to an official decision until the committee’s May meeting.
If the degree program passes the board of governors, it would be the first medical school approval by the governing body in more than 50 years.
“North Carolina faces a significant physician shortage, a healthcare shortage in general, when it is especially acute in fast growing areas like southeast North Carolina and underserved areas or rural areas,” Volety said.
Volety was joined at Wednesday’s meeting by several area leaders, including UNCW trustees Yousry Sayed and High Caison, and Dane Scalise, also vice chair of the New Hanover County Commissioners.
“We feel like it’s a very, very popular moment for UNCW to take on this challenge, because the need is clear,” Caison said. “UNCW has already built a thriving healthcare workforce pipeline and a medical school is the next step.”
Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) also spoke in favor of the initiative.
“People want to spend the rest of their years here, and healthcare is a major need,” Rep. Bell said.
UNC Board of Governors member and former New Hanover County commissioner and UNCW trustee Woody White also spoke of the project, calling it a “labor of love.” He said Trustee Sayed approached him years ago positing about a medical school in Wilmington, but White said he thought it “ridiculous” because of the logistics needed to open one.
“Thank you. Dr. Yousry … for the vision that you have,” White said.
Sayed donated $25 million to UNCW last February for a wide range of healthcare and workforce programs and research initiatives, as well as to develop an academic health sciences center.
The expansion of UNCW healthcare degree offerings would allow the university’s 2,000 pre-health students to continue their degree at the university instead of transferring to a different medical school; outside students would also be able to transfer into UNCW’s program.
Volety told the committee Wednesday the vision for the school was “nontraditional,” in that it would rely on collaborative training placements with federally qualified health centers, existing and future hospitals, clinics, medical practices across the region, including rural areas.
“This proposed explanation is not meant to compete but complement existing excellent programs and other state institutions,” Volety said.
Port City Daily asked UNCW what local healthcare agencies have signed on in partnership but did not receive a response by press.
White added the New Hanover Community Endowment has been involved in high-level conversations about the school but has not indicated official support at this time; White also serves on The Endowment’s governing board. He was commissioner when The Endowment was created with the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health.
“The governing documents, the mission that we put together in doing so, we put two words — transformational change,” White said. “If you think about what this will do for our county and our region to transform access to health care we have a cost of health care, it’s unimaginable.”
In 2023, The Endowment issued a 22.3 million grant to Cape Fear Community College, UNCW, New Hanover County Schools and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to launch a healthcare talent pipeline program.
Volety spoke to the need for the new medical school, noting North Carolina is on track to have a deficit of 7,700 physicians by 2030. However, Volety argued this was not because of a lack of interest. He said only half the number of North Carolina students that applied to a medical school were accepted; of those who were admitted, 45% attended a North Carolina school.
The chancellor noted the need for physicians is especially prevalent in southeastern North Carolina; Wilmington and surrounding counties are growing at a faster rate than the rest of the state. Brunswick County, in particular, is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. The result, Volety said, is hard-to-get appointments, hours-long delays at emergency rooms, and long travel times to other healthcare providers outside the region.
“The need is there; the shortage is significant,” Volety said. “The best time to tackle any problem like this was yesterday.”
Following the board of governors’ authorization of the program, Volety said the next step would be to create a business plan and hire a dean and key personnel. The hired staff would work with an accreditation agency over the next two years, to undergo a self study of the university’s policies and procedures.
From there, the accreditation agency would give the university authorization to recruit and enroll students. Based on a projected timeline, the first students would be enrolled in August 2029.
Port City Daily also asked about how much it would cost and anticipated capital needs, but a spokesperson pointed the news source to the presentation, which didn’t address financials.
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