JONESBORO - Calling it a “historic transformation” of Arkansas State University, the ASU board of trustees voted unanimously Friday to collaborate with the New York Institute of Technology to develop an osteopathic medical school on the ASU-Jonesboro campus.
Dan Pierce, chairman of the five-member board, said the decision to join with the New York City institute will help create a doctoral program that will provide the Delta region with badly needed medical care.
The move allows the institute to establish a branch campus at ASU, with the first students enrolling in August 2016.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Pierce said of the partnership with the institute,which offers a doctorate in osteopathic medicine. “I can’t think of a more important thing ASU can do. It puts us in a different league as an institution.”
On March 14, the New York school’s board members are expected to approve a similar resolution to partner with ASU. Once that passes, ASU can seek national accreditation, said ASU Chancellor Tim Hudson.
He expects about 120 students to enroll in the doctoral program when it begins in fall 2016.
“This is an extraordinary journey,” he said.
The institute’s College of Osteopathic Medicine has 83 full- and part-time faculty members on staff with 1,200 students enrolled.
The college opened in 1977 and awarded its first degrees four years later.
The nearest osteopathic medical schools to Arkansas are in Kansas City, Mo; Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Tulsa.
Doctors of osteopathic medicine are trained physicians licensed by the Arkansas State Medical Board to prescribe medication, perform surgery and practice in all recognized medical specialties.
ASU commissioned a feasibility study last fall by the Pittsburgh medical research firm Tripp Umbach that found an osteopathic medical school at ASU-Jonesboro would likely mitigate the primary-care physician shortage in the Delta.
“The Delta is one of the most under-served regions in the U.S. for health care,” ASU Systems President Charles Welch said.
“This is a way we can address that issue.”
The university plans to spend $2 million to refurbish Wilson Hall on for the medical school.
The building had been used for English, history and social-science classes.
“There is a huge need for this,” Hudson said.
“We’re in that perfect zone to serve the area. We could not have found a better partner than NYIT. They’ve been in business for a long time, and they know how to do this.”
Under the plan, the university will offer a four-year program with two years dedicated to course work and two years to internships at clinics across the state.
University Chief of Staff Jason Penry has said it will cost a student about $45,000 a year to enroll in the program.
“This is a game changer,” Pierce said. “It moves ASU-Jonesboro into a new neighborhood. This is the biggest economic opportunity we’ll see in Jonesboro in a long time.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 03/01/2014