A proposal to create a new, standalone medical school in Athens at the University of Georgia cleared a key hurdle Tuesday when the Georgia Board of Regents voted to approve the plan.
The board’s unanimous authorization prepares the way for the state’s second public medical school. It promises to be a crown jewel of UGA, extending the land-grant university’s research reach and boosting its economic impact. Officials say the new school also is desperately needed to address Georgia’s physician shortage.
UGA President Jere Morehead called the decision “a historic moment for our state and university.”
“The School of Medicine will significantly expand the pool of medical professionals in Georgia, attract more top-tier scientists and researchers to the state, and produce more physicians to serve underserved and rural Georgia communities,” he said in a written statement.
Board members did not discuss a timeline for opening the new school, but additional steps remain, including obtaining accreditation and securing funding for a new facility. UGA spokesman James Hataway said the university “will immediately initiate the accreditation process” with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an authority for the accreditation of medical education programs.
Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp recommended spending $50 million in state funds for the medical school’s design and construction. The Georgia House of Representatives last week approved the project as part of its amended budget for the current fiscal year, which Senate appropriators will soon consider.
Officials have estimated the total cost of a new facility to be $100 million, with UGA to provide additional funding. The university pointed to its fundraising prowess in a press release about the board’s vote, saying it brought in more than $240 million in gifts and pledges for various initiatives for the last fiscal year.
Augusta University currently operates the state’s lone public medical college, the Medical College of Georgia. In 2010, Augusta University and UGA partnered to open an Athens campus of the medical college, which currently enrolls 60 students per class.
Dana Nichols, the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, told the board that a December feasibility study from the consulting firm Tripp Umbach concluded that the existing partnership “is no longer sufficient to meet the state’s demand for physicians.”
Nichols said the study also found “that UGA has the academic, research and development infrastructure to support a successful independent, M.D.-granting public medical school.”
There are sufficient clinical training sites available to support a new medical school, according to the report. It identifies Northeast Georgia Health System, Piedmont Healthcare and St. Mary’s Health Care System as interested partners.
Sonny Perdue, the University System’s chancellor, said the effort will “help to push our state close to where we need to be regarding physician development and graduation.” Georgia has 36 counties classified by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration as having a high need for primary care practitioners.
UGA said it will work “to ensure a smooth transition” for current medical students. The consultants’ report said a new UGA school could enroll students as early as fall 2026.
Staff writer James Salzer contributed to this article.
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