It’s official. New Mexico State University is moving forward on a partnership to bring a private medical school to campus.
It will be called for the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, named for Dan Burrell, a state businessman and chair of the New Mexico Leadership Institute, which provides training and scholarships for students to attend NMSU and UNM.
If everything goes as planned, the school will start operations by the end of 2016. But don’t expect ground to be broken until next year. That’s because the school is expected to receive preliminary accreditation in December. NMSU President Doctor Garrey Carruthers says it will provide great opportunities for students at the nearby Early College High School and will attract more young people interested in a medical degree to begin their studies at NMSU.
Doctor Carruthers says NMSU will make no capital contribution to the medical school. But he says the school will financially benefit NMSU through a land lease and the payment of student fees for NMSU activities and campus amenities. And by the fourth year of operation, Carruthers says the medical school has pledged to provide $500,000 in scholarships to NMSU undergraduates.