FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
The following commonly asked questions and answers are intended to provide the campus and community with key information about the proposed School of Medicine. Additional questions may be submitted to Kathy Barton at kathryn.barton@ucr.edu.
- What does it mean to be a University of California medical school?
- What is the status of planning for the UCR medical school?
- When is the medical school anticipated to open and what will be the enrollment?
- How will having a school of medicine benefit the rest of the campus?
- What is the status of the dean search?
- Where will the medical school be built?
- Are there still plans for a Surge building? Will the School of Medicine faculty have lab space in this building? If so, for how long?
- How will the proposed medical school be funded?
- Will state funds allocated for general campus schools and colleges be used for the School of Medicine?
- How will the medical school fund faculty salaries?
- What is a distributed clinical model of medical education?
What does it mean to be a University of California medical school?
Each of the University of California's five medical schools has the tripartite mission of medical education, research and clinical service that is aligned with UC's overall mission of teaching, research and public service.
What is the status of planning for the UCR medical school?
The University of California Board of Regents in July 2008 approved establishment of the UCR School of Medicine, paving the way for the first public medical school to be built in California in more than 40 years. The UCR campus subsequently began the start-up phase of the medical school, which will include recruiting a founding Dean, gaining accreditation, and establishing partnerships with regional hospitals and clinics for medical student rotations and residencies.
When is the medical school anticipated to open and what will be the enrollment?
Current plans call for the medical school to accept its first four-year class of 50 medical students in fall of 2012. At full build-out, plans call for total enrollment of 400 medical students, or 100 per class.
How will having a school of medicine benefit the rest of the campus?
The presence of a medical school can help enrich the academic climate of a campus, creating new, diverse opportunities for research collaborations across disciplines. A medical school can also be a powerful stimulus for bringing to a campus additional research funds and for attracting new industry to collaborate in health-related research. A graduate component is also being planned for the medical school, which will contribute to campus aspirations to increase graduate school enrollment.
What is the status of the dean search?
A national search for the founding dean of the School of Medicine was launched in October 2008. A search committee is comprised of representatives from the UCR faculty, students and staff; other University of California medical schools; and the community. Chancellor Timothy P. White co-chairs the committee with Phyllis A. Guze, executive director of medical school planning. Recruitment of the founding dean is expected to take between nine and 12 months.
Where will the medical school be built?
UCR's Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) designates the West Campus for development of graduate and professional schools and other uses such as housing and recreational facilities. Initial planning is underway for the proposed medical school to be located at the northeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Are there still plans for a Surge building? Will the School of Medicine faculty have lab space in this building? If so, for how long?
Yes, there are plans for a surge building to be built and utilized by faculty and staff of various schools and colleges, including the School of Medicine. Additionally, plans call for the space currently utilized by the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Biomedical Sciences Program to be renovated to accommodate the early stages of programmatic growth. Capital plans include an initial School of Medicine instructional and research building to be completed by 2015, when the portion of the surge building utilized for medical school purposes reverts to general campus use.
How will the proposed medical school be funded?
The proposed medical school would be funded from a variety of sources, including state funds, education fees paid by students enrolled in the school, revenue from clinical services, contracts and grants, and private gifts and endowments.
Will state funds allocated for general campus schools and colleges be used for the School of Medicine?
Enrollment-driven state funding is allocated separately to support budgets for general campus schools and colleges and budgets for the health sciences. For example, funding allocated to the general campus for faculty FTE cannot be reallocated to the health sciences and vice versa. Student enrollment in the medical school will generate both the faculty FTE and enrollment-generated state funds for the medical school.
How will the medical school fund faculty salaries?
In the case of public medical schools, faculty salaries are generally funded from a variety of sources, such as State General Funds, grants and contracts, revenue from the patient care services, endowed professorships, and private funds. For planning purposes, faculty salaries in the UCR medical school are based on the average salaries at the five UC medical schools.
What is a distributed clinical model of medical education?
The distributed clinical model of medical education means that UCR will collaborate with existing healthcare facilities and professionals in the region to train students. This also means that there are no plans to build a university hospital.