NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The College of William and Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School said Wednesday they have agreed to explore the feasibility of having EVMS become the William and Mary School of Medicine.
The public schools announced the beginning of the exploration process in a joint statement. The College of William and Mary is the nation’s second oldest college and is located in Williamsburg. EVMS was founded in 1973 and is located in Norfolk, about an hour’s drive southeast of Williamsburg. It has no correlating undergraduate institution while William and Mary already has graduate programs in business and law, among others.
“The fact that one of the oldest, most prestigious colleges in the country would consider affiliating with us speaks volumes about the groundbreaking work our faculty, staff and students are achieving every day. While we won’t know for some time how this will work out, I think this is a tremendous compliment and an opportunity worth exploring,” EVMS President Harry T. Lester said in a statement on the school’s website.
EVMS was primarily founded to improve health care in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Of the 2,300 physicians who hold degrees from EVMS, 500 practice in the area while another 300 practice in other parts of Virginia, according to the school. The school receives about 5,000 applications for 150 student openings each year. EVMS doesn’t own a teaching hospital, but has partnerships with hospitals, physicians and clinics throughout the area to provide students and residents with clinical experience. The main campus is part of a medical center that includes Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.
The joint statement says that before a decision can be made by either school, each must carefully investigate the implications of such a combination. The statement says it is not known how long that will take. If the schools decide to proceed, it would require the approval of the General Assembly and the governor.
William and Mary President Taylor Reveley said in an email to his campus community that there are miles to go before either school is ready to make a decision.
“In my view, the EVMS possibility is worth careful consideration. EVMS is an institution we know and respect. Many W&M graduates have gone to medical school there. And there has been productive research collaboration between the two schools,” Reveley said. “Whether asking for state approval of this combination will ultimately prove to be in our best interests, all factors considered, is what we must now carefully determine. The same, obviously, is true of EVMS from its perspective.”
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Online: College of William and Mary www.wm.edu
Eastern Virginia Medical School www.evms.edu
Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis
