New Medical School Gets OK To Begin Seeking Students

Accrediting committee notifies Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine of decision.

By Sarah Bruyn Jones
The Roanoke Times

Cynda Johnson, dean of the Virginia Tech School of Medicine. receives a call Wednesday afternoon letting her know that the school is accredited.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine has received preliminary accreditation and can now begin to recruit students.

Dr. Cynda Johnson, dean of the school, was notified today by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education that VTC had achieved this critical step towards becoming a viable medical school. Up until now the school has mostly been in the planning phases of becoming a medical school and has not been able to promote itself to potential students.

In order to achieve the goal of opening its doors by August 2010 to the inaugural class, the school needed to earn preliminary accreditation this month.

In seeking to distinguish VTC from other medical school, the curriculum has been designed to accommodate a small class size and include an emphasis on medical research. The first class will be 42 students and annual tuition will begin at $40,000. About 40 faculty members are being hired to teach the aspiring physicians.

Meanwhile construction continues on what will be the 154,000-square-foot home for the school. The space will be shared with the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.

Taxpayers are footing the bill for the $59 million structure that will be owned by Virginia Tech. Carilion Clinic owns the land that the building sits on near the corner of South Jefferson Street and Reserve Avenue.