Medical Education Expansion

1785
UGA became the first state chartered university in Georgia

1828
Medical Academy of Georgia chartered by state of Georgia (officially changed name to Medical College of Georgia in 1950).

1860-96
Rock College/Gilmer Hall built and operated by UGA as a high school and later as an experimental farm.

1896-1953
The State Normal School was located at the UGA site and a number of buildings were constructed there between 1896 and 1917 to house the School.

1953
The 40-acre State Normal School site formerly used by UGA was conveyed to the United States Navy to be used for the Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS).

1963
The Navy purchased 18.45 adjacent acres for expansion purposes.

1953-Present
The Navy constructed numerous office, housing, training and support structures necessary for the operation of the NSCS programs.

2005
The Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS) was formally designated for closure as part of the Navy’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

November 2005
The Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine established its first clinical campus, the Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, headquartered at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany.

December 2005
The Secretary of Defense recognized the Athens-Clarke County Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) as the sole authority for the development and reuse plan for the NSCS.

2006
The LRA developed a selection process and received multiple reuse proposals.

August 2006
MCG School of Medicine entered its first freshman class of 190. The increase from 180 students was the first since the 1970s.

January 2007
The state of Georgia appropriates funds to study expanding public medical education.

April 2007
The Georgia General Assembly passed the fiscal year 2008 budget which included $2.8 million to expand medical school capacity. Gov. Perdue signed the budget May 31 and funds became available July 1.

May 2007
St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah and the MCG School of Medicine announced a partnership that will lead to the Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus.

September 2007
Medical College of Georgia retains Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Tripp Umbach to complete a medical education expansion study on behalf of the Board of Regents.

October 2007
The LRA voted unanimously for final approval of the UGA proposal to establish a health sciences center at the NSCS site.

Dr. Linda Boyd, a family physician and curriculum development expert, was named associate dean for regional campus coordination for the MCG School of Medicine.

December 2007
The University of Georgia submitted the mandatory application for educational reuse to the U.S. Department of Education for review.

January 2008 Tripp Umbach presents the Board of Regents with his study and proposal for expanding medical education.

April 2009
The Liaison Committee for Medical Education, the accrediting authority for M.D. education programs, conducted a site visit on the Athens partnership campus in April 2009.

Summer 2009
USG will release Graduate Medical Education Expansion plan for the state.

Fall 2009
Athens area hospitals commit to pursue residency programs

Fall 2010
40 medical students will enroll at the MCG/UGA partnership campus in Athens.

July 2011
The Navy expects to vacate the NSCS site by 2011, making it available for renovation and preparation for the new health sciences center.

Fall 2011
Athens area hospital residency programs become part of GME residency match. Residency matching begins.

2011-2012
UGA programs and personnel will be established at the site, such as the UGA College of Public Health, including the Institute of Gerontology and the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defense, as well as the Health Sciences Branch Library, the UGA Center for Health and Risk Communications, and the UGA Health Sciences Campus Police.

March 2012
Athens area hospitals residency matches are announced.

July 2012
Athens area hospitals residencies begin.

August 2012
First-year through fourth-year medical students locate at the site.

The MCG/UGA Medical Education Program will be initiated at another off-campus site until the NSCS site is available. The most aggressive schedule is for accreditation to be achieved by the end of 2008 with first-year students matriculating in Fall 2009, first- and second-year courses commencing in Fall 2010, years 1-3 in Fall 2011 at the initial site, then years 1-4 all will locate together at the NSCS site in August 2012.

Fall 2012
Projected full occupancy of the new health sciences center by UGA and joint UGA/MCG and UGA/ATC programs.

2014
First MCG students to graduate from Athens Campus.

2017
First MCG/UGA students to begin practicing medicine.

2020
MCG’s statewide enrollment reaches 1,200 students


MCG’s economic impact statewide doubles to $3.2 billion


10,000 new jobs created as a result of the plan.