Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia this week notified the Navy Supply Corps School Local Redevelopment Authority that it has obtained all the necessary funding and approval to meet the Medical School Program requirement. The certification indicates that UGA is ready to begin offering medical education instruction in its partnership with the Medical College of Georgia, and marks a key checkpoint in the process of transferring the Navy Supply Corps School property to the University of Georgia for repurposing as the UGA Health Sciences Campus.
“This is the culmination of several years of work by many people on campus, in the community, and across the state,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams.”We are excited about what it means about the future of the community and the university.”
In an April 28 letter from Adams to LRA chair Courtney Tobin, the university certified that it has been appropriated sufficient funding by the Georgia General Assembly to meet all necessary expenses. This includes planning funds from fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and $15.5 million to the Medical College of Georgia/University of Georgia Medical Partnership in fiscal year 2010. Approximately $15.4 million is in the fiscal year 2011 budget passed by the General Assembly and awaiting action by the governor.
“This funding has allowed us to prepare the Interim Medical Partnership Building and to hire all of the faculty and staff necessary to start classes on August 9, 2010,” Adams wrote.
He further stated that the MCG/UGA Partnership has received the necessary accreditation approvals from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, and that the admissions process is nearing completion with 32 of the first class of 40 students for the Athens campus already identified.”There is no doubt that all 40 will be identified in the next few weeks and classes will begin in August,” Adams said.
The letter continued, “We are continuing to prepare to receive the deed for the entire Navy Base in the spring of 2011. After that occurrence, our plans are to take about 12 months to accomplish some necessary renovations to a few buildings and to then move the medical education students, faculty and all attendant activities onto the base in time to start classes on the property in August 2012.”
In addition to the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership, the Health Sciences Campus will house the newly-accredited UGA College of Public Health.
The memorandum of agreement with the Local Redevelopment Authority covering transfer of the Navy School property was signed June 4, 2007 and required the university to certify that these requirements had been met by May 1, 2010.
