University of Central Florida College of Medicine - History

History

On March 23, 2006, the Florida Board of Governors voted 15-1 in support of UCF's proposal to build a medical college. The medical college will constitute a new UCF medical campus that is being constructed at Lake Nona, located on the eastern edge of Orlando near the Orlando International Airport. Upon completion of the first phase, the base of this medical college will include a 113,000-square-foot (10,500 m2) building for the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, a 130,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) medical college instructional building and a 60,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) library.

In October 2005, a local Orlando investment company, the Tavistock Group, donated $12.5 million and 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land to UCF to help establish the UCF Medical School at Lake Nona, and issued a challenge to the Orlando community to help the university raise an additional $12.5 million to boost the total amount of raised funds to $25 million. This $25 million would be eligible for a matching state grant, thus giving UCF the needed $50 million to create the medical college. UCF received well over $100 million in donations, state-matching funds, and land value for the medical college's establishment.

The new College of Medicine offered an unprecedented full scholarship package to every member of its charter class, 41 students entering in Fall 2009. The scholarship, financed by various donors, amounts to $40,000 per year, half going to tuition (out-of-state fees being waived) and the other half for living expenses. Dean German spearheaded the effort to secure these scholarships, having herself received a similar scholarship at Harvard Medical School. The new school received over 4,300 applications, including at least one with a perfect MCAT score, making it at that time the most selective medical school in the United States.