Giving Priorities

Although many opportunities exist to support the establishment and growth of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, there are a number of pressing needs that must be met in order for the school to compete for the best and the brightest students and faculty from day one. These include:

Scholarships

As we work toward recruiting our first cohort of students for fall 2011, scholarships stand as one of our greatest priorities. The average medical school student graduates with more than $100,000 in debt with most prospective students only able to attend medical school through a combination of scholarships and financial aid. Outright gifts to fund scholarships today, combined with endowed support to fund permanent scholarships, will encourage and attract the most promising students and encourage our best and brightest minds to remain in state for their medical education.

At the OUWB School of Medicine, the impact of a scholarship gift can extend beyond the recipient. Through an innovative Capstone program, students who become involved in addressing health care issues outside the classroom and within the community at large will be eligible for full scholarships in year four of their training. Supporting a Capstone scholarship not only helps a future physician, it can ease the health care burdens of children, adults and families in medically underserved towns and cities throughout southeastern Michigan.

Endowed Chairs and Professorships

Endowed chairs and professorships are a vital component of establishing academic excellence from day one at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, providing incentives for outstanding teachers and clinicians to bring their talents, skills and reputations to campus. Endowed positions also provide an opportunity for donors to become part of a lasting OUWB legacy, with named chairs and professorships offering a meaningful and lasting way to honor and remember family, friends and others who have inspired.

Initial Staffing, Programming and Start-Up Costs

The costs of launching an ambitious new medical school are significant. Recruiting world-class faculty; finding and recruiting the most promising students; acquiring the state-of-the-art technology necessary for training and research; building curricula; establishing programming – all are necessary in order to create the model of excellence envisioned for the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. Gifts directed toward these initial start-up costs enable administrators and staff to plan and more importantly, act on meeting the school’s most pressing needs.

Capital Projects

The current office and classroom space for the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine are located in Oakland’s O’Dowd Hall. Clinical work will take place on the Royal Oak campus of William Beaumont Hospital. While this arrangement works well for now, it will become increasingly untenable as class sizes grow and the school moves toward meeting its full enrollment target in 2017.

To meet these impending space, resource and technology needs, two facilities are being planned: a medical education building located on the campus of Oakland University and situated alongside a new Human Health Building, which is expected to break ground in spring 2010. At Beaumont Hospital, a new facility providing on-site classroom space and expanded areas for clinical study is also planned. The cost to build each of these facilities is estimated at $60 million.