[Ed. Note: The UNC Board of Governors unanimously granted permission for UNCW to move forward with the planning of the medical school at its Thursday meeting.]
RALEIGH — UNCW’s proposed medical school made it past its first hurdle Wednesday with preliminary planning approval from the UNC System’s Educational Planning, Policies and Programs Committee.
The committee voted unanimously to support UNCW beginning the process for establishing a medical school offering two doctorate degree options — a four-year medical degree and a three-year accelerated program.
The expansion of UNCW healthcare degree offerings would allow the university’s 2,000 pre-health students to continue their studies at the university instead of transferring to a different medical school; outside students would also be able to transfer into UNCW’s program.
The educational planning committee is made up of five board of governors members: Terry Hutchens, Gene Davis, Sonja Nichols, Kathryn Greeley and Mark Holton.
“It’s doing what we talk about all the time … identify a need, think out of the box, cut down the time — don’t cut that time down too much for our doctors — but identify a need, work with the community donors and the existing business community, which in this case is the local health care providers,” UNC Board of Governors Chair Wendy Murphy said. “I think it will be tremendous if it comes to pass.”
Wednesday’s vote is more a symbolic show of support rather than an official act. Neither the committee nor the board of governors are required to permit UNCW to plan for a medical school; however, the board of governors will also vote Thursday to support UNCW’s planning effort.
David English, UNC System vice president for academic programs, faculty, and research explained UNCW will still need to go through the proper channels to gain program approval, which is typically a one-year ordeal involving two separate reviews and votes by the UNC System Graduate Council UCSM Graduate Council, along with a full external analysis done by reviewers from peer medical schools.
“Given the importance, the size and magnitude of this type, we believed it was important for the board to be able to weigh in prior to the planning process,” English said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Though the committee didn’t debate the item on Wednesday, board of governors member Swadesh Chatterjee asked how the initiative would be funded.
UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety said he wasn’t sure of the exact cost for the planning nor the implementation of the school at this time, but noted the university has paid for consulting up to this point with philanthropy. He stated a goal to raise more than $100 million for the school.
As for the overall budget, Volety noted he anticipated UNCW’s school would cost less than “existing support for medical schools in the state” because of the accelerated track and UNCW’s model. The proposed program focuses on clinical training rather than “high-end research,” as Volety described; also unlike UNC, for example, UNCW’s plans don’t include the construction of a teaching hospital. Instead, it would depend on community-based training and relationships with area medical facilities and healthcare agencies.
“We are modeling various scenarios, adjusting the tuition, state support, federal support, all the philanthropic support,” Volety said, noting an exact figure would be hashed out in the planning process.
UNC System President Peter Hans said he has confirmed there is financial support behind the endeavor.
“I have verified the very, very, very, very strong possibility of significant private support for this — this is not taken on a wish,” Hans said.
The president added the medical school is part of the system’s broader strategy to expand physician residencies in rural parts of the state.
“What you find there is doctors are more likely to locate in an area if their residency was performed in that area — not necessarily where they went to medical school,” Hans said. “Don’t get me wrong, that can be very beneficial.”
UNCW hopes retaining students from pre-med to graduation, along with partnering with hospitals like Novant Health and potentially the new UNC Health facility proposed for New Hanover County, will help keep physicians practicing in the Cape Fear and expand healthcare options in the southeast.
As previously stated by Volety, the goal is to open the medical program for its inaugural class in August 2029. Following the board of governors’ authorization estimated for May 2027, 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.
After publication, Novant Health provided a statement on UNC Board of Governors’ unanimous vote taken Thursday, also favoring the planning stage of a UNCW med school. Laurie Whalin, president of Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center and acute care operations for the Novant Health Coastal Region said the coastal Wilmington region is attractive to both live and work and the addition of a med school would elevate its working relationship with the university students even further.
“I’m extremely encouraged by Chancellor Volety’s vision to explore expanding UNCW’s offerings with a new medical school here in Wilmington,” she wrote. “UNCW and Novant Health have a longstanding shared commitment to educating health professionals, many of whom decide to make Wilmington and our surrounding region their home after graduation. Opening up new opportunities to train physicians is a key step to strengthen the healthcare workforce. I’m excited about how UNCW’s proposal could build upon the foundational training programs each of us have in place and how it could benefit our community.”
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