Medical School at good ole' CMU

Tomorrow, February 18, 2010, Central Michigan University's Board of Trustees will meet for the first the this year.

The event will mean change for the university no matter what.

When tomorrow's meeting concludes, CMU is likely to be the home to a College of Medicine. Whether this for the good of CMU or not, only time will tell.

It has to be considered a risk to embark on such a large investment (nearly $2.3 million in 2009-2010) at what many would consider a mid-tier and overpriced school in Michigan.

A New York Times article said new medical schools like the one proposed at CMU, Hofstra and other universities will provide care for the newly insured as a result of the health care reform. Also it the article claimed new doctors will replace a large number of retiring practitioners across the country and there is also hope these new doctors will go to urban and rural areas.

Wishful thinking at best, as the article also said, "But skeptics say that although many parts of the country do need more primary care, American doctors tend to congregate in affluent, urban and suburban areas that already have a generous supply."

Not going to find too many doctors in urban and rural areas doing Pro Bono work when according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average educational debt of indebted 2009 medical school graduates was $156,456.


I'm all for providing new opportunities on college campuses, but if it comes at the expense of other already established academic programs at CMU, then I would suggest the administration think twice before alienating the faculty and students alike.


CMU 2009-2010 Operating Budget