New Fort Worth med school more than just academic perk

A new M.D. school expected to open here in 2018 is more than an academic addition to TCU and the University of North Texas Health Science Center: It represents a shift toward more prestige and a higher profile nationally and globally for the universities and the city.

The private Texas Christian University, with its nationally recognized football and baseball teams, already seems to be constantly on the move — upgrading the campus, investing in academics and getting national attention. Plans for the new medical school are an indicator to many that the momentum is continuing.

“It means that we are advancing and expanding our prominence in the country and in the state,” said Ali Medders, a senior majoring in biology at TCU. “TCU has done great in football and baseball, and now we are showing that we are also a huge group that is going to have a lot of influence in Texas and the country.”

For the health science center, the M.D. school is a long-sought goal. The center has been home to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine since 1970 and will continue to educate D.O.s on its campus just west of downtown.

“I haven’t been bashful in talking about the need for an M.D. school in Fort Worth,” Dr. Michael Williams, the school’s president, told the Star-Telegram Editorial Board last week. “There is nothing wrong with having two medical schools in the same town.”

Leaders at both universities said they can educate more doctors by sharing resources and relying on millions of dollars pledged for the project.

“I think it is going to be huge,” TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said. “It is a wonderful strategic move for Texas Christian University.”

The new medical school is expected to enhance TCU’s reputation by both increasing the number of graduate students and attracting more high-performing students, Boschini said. Both are factors in elevating universities to a higher level of prestige, and potential students look at those details when choosing a college, he said.

“A lot of students and families look at that and feel that is important,” he said.

‘One more reason to stay’

Dr. Adrianne Deem, a 1994 TCU graduate, likened adding the medical school to winning athletic championships, because it can make the school a “premier university in the nation.”

Deem, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Fort Worth who attended medical school at the University of Missouri, said a medical school draws quality students with high test scores and increases research, which can result in greater national recognition for the university.

Deem said that through existing TCU programs, undergraduates who plan to attend medical school can commit to a medical career and perhaps study in Fort Worth. The latter is a big draw for out-of-state TCU students like herself who fall in love with their school.

“You also fall in love with Fort Worth,” Deem said. “This is going to be one more reason to stay.”

The collaboration also represents a rise in prominence for Fort Worth, the largest city in the U.S. without a school that offers an M.D. degree.

“This is a Fort Worth solution,” Williams said. “A Fort Worth solution that rises above the benefits to either institution.”

Fort Worth and Tarrant County leaders said the medical school adds to the region’s growing reputation as a higher-education center. Texas A&M University bought Texas Wesleyan’s law school in 2013, and area universities, including the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington, experienced record enrollment growth in the last 10 years.

“There’s no doubt that there are many options for those here in Tarrant County who are seeking accreditation in fields all the way up from associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and Ph.D.s,” said Bill Thornton, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. “Tarrant County has plenty to offer.”

‘A missing ingredient’

The medical school will give aspiring physicians the option to study in Fort Worth, including students already working on pre-med tracks at TCU.

Matt Chumchal, director of TCU’s Pre-Health Professions Institute, suggested that the move can make TCU a peer of private universities such as Tulane, Loyola University Chicago and Creighton University, which have medical schools.

“From a pre-med perspective, I’m thrilled,” he said.

For TCU, the M.D. school will mean drawing more high-achieving in-state and out-of-state students competing for medical school slots. Private medical schools don’t face the same state requirements on the number of in-state students, so TCU would be attractive to out-of-staters who want to be in Texas, Chumchal said.

Jacob Malmquist, a senior majoring in biology, said the medical school will be a “huge selling point for TCU recruiting.”

“I believe it is going to increase academic standards across the board on incoming classes. ACTs, SATs — scores are going to go up and make TCU a much more competitive school on a national level,” Malmquist said.

Chumchal said students need to be committed and high-performing to apply for medical school. He said the typical grade-point average for students entering medical school is about 3.7.

Luther King Jr., a member of the TCU board of trustees, called the medical school project “a slam dunk” that will complement existing academic programs.

“It was probably a missing ingredient,” King said.

Deem said medical students will benefit from TCU’s personal, high-quality learning environment and the center’s resources.

Community health

Last week’s formal announcement of the new medical school was praised by community leaders — from Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price to former Mayor Kenneth Barr.

“At the UNT Health Science Center, we have been creating the future since 1970 when a small group of people came together with a passion for a purpose and made this bold stand to create the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine out of a renovated bowling alley on Camp Bowie Boulevard,” Williams told community leaders last week. “Forty-five years later … the UNT Health Science Center has become one of the most comprehensive centers for graduate health education.”

But bringing the project to fruition was not always smooth for the health science center and the University of North Texas System. The medical school project didn’t have the support of many Texas osteopaths, who worried that an M.D. program would come at the expense of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

In late 2012, the UNT System fired the center’s president, Dr. Scott Ransom, and some community leaders wondered whether the center would recover from the blow.

But under Williams’ leadership, trust was regained, supporters of the center say. The university, which includes the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Health, the School of Health Professions and the UNT System College of Pharmacy, can finally add its medical school.

Allan Howeth, a member of the center’s foundation board of directors, said having two medical programs will be a plus for the university and the community.

“There is a strong commitment for this not to change the D.O. program,” Howeth said.

The center is involved in community-based health programs, including the recent creation of a pediatric mobile clinic to bring healthcare professionals to children and families in several neighborhoods. The institution also partnered last year with the JPS Health Network to improve healthcare access and expand educational and research opportunities through the creation of a physician medical group.

“The new M.D. program allows us to offer the nation’s most comprehensive healthcare education located on a single campus. No other single campus in the nation is home to an M.D. school, osteopathic medical college and graduate schools for pharmacists, physician assistants, physical therapists, public health experts and biomedical scientists,” Williams told the Star-Telegram.

‘Green and purple’

The center is known for its research on aging and Alzheimer’s disease, and its highest-profile facility is the Center for Human Identification, which helps solve cases worldwide.

DNA experts have helped train Libyan scientists to analyze the remains of 20,000 people found in mass graves after the 2011 conflict that led to the overthrow and death of Moammar Gadhafi. Experts helped authorities identify victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

The center “has one of the most outstanding DNA labs in the whole world,” said Arnold Gachman, a member of the institution’s foundation board.

Gachman said the partnership was a “game-changer.” The area will benefit from having a D.O. and M.D. program that works closely with TCU’s medical and science programs.

“With TCU as our teammate, we gain the added value of a highly successful nursing program, a great engineering and innovation center, and an extraordinary business school. The combination of these great educational assets with those on our own campus will allow us to create an atmosphere for learning that emphasizes leadership, innovation, design thinking and teamwork — all for the eventual benefit of the patients our students will serve,” Williams said.

The new program is also ushering in a new phrase: “Green and purple.”

“It will be fun to see the green and the purple together,” said Medders, the TCU biology major. “Maybe one day I will be wearing scrubs that have both colors in the logo or maybe purple scrubs with a green logo.”

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 2:47 PM with the headline "New Fort Worth med school more than just academic perk."