Riverpoint Campus has room for two medical-school programs, Chancellor Brown says

This state, this town, and even the Riverpoint Campus is big enough for two university medical-school programs, contends Lisa Brown, chancellor at Washington State University Spokane.

Brown says theres enough physical space in WSU Spokanes Biomedical Sciences building and other facilities on the Riverpoint Campus to launch WSUs envisioned four-year medical school and for UW to expand its WWAMI program.

WWAMI, which stands for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska and Idaho, is a UW School of Medicine regional medical education program. WWAMIs long standing partnership with WSU here is breaking up, largely over WSUs plans to launch its own fully accredited medical school.

That was part of our proposal from the beginning, she says of the concept of having two programs here, although WSU originally had envisioned partnering with UW in both programs. The Spokane community had always talked about a four-year medical school being done in partnership with the University of Washington and WWAMI.

While UW currently is looking for a new WWAMI partner, Brown says UW is welcome to continue to operate the program here in WSU facilities.

We have enough capacity for 120 medical students per class, she says. Im assuming as part of an agreement with UW, they would want to utilize that.

As part of the dissolution, though, UW wants to run WWAMI without WSUs faculty or administration, Brown says.

WSU plans to request $2.5 million during the next legislative session to proceed with the accreditation process for a full four-year medical school. WSU also will ask the Legislature to change a law that gives UW exclusive authority to operate a medical school through a state university in Washington.

As part of the accreditation process, WSU would hire a founding dean, establish a curriculum, and hire faculty to teach the curriculum.

By 2017, we hope to start with a charter class of 40 students, Brown says.

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Riverpoint Campus has room for two medical-school programs, Chancellor Brown says

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