Baylor College of Medicine - History

History

The school was formed in 1900 in Dallas, Texas, by a small group of physicians who aimed to improve medical practice in North Texas. Originally called the University of Dallas Medical Department, the school opened its doors October 30, 1900, with 81 students. In 1903, an alliance with Baylor University in Waco was formed and the name changed to Baylor University College of Medicine.

By 1918, Baylor University College of Medicine was the only private medical school in Texas. The M.D. Anderson Foundation invited Baylor University College to join the newly formed Texas Medical Center in 1943. The College opened in the medical center on July 12, 1943, in a converted Sears, Roebuck & Co. building, with 131 students. four years later, the College moved into its present site in The Roy and Lillie Cullen Building, the first building completed in the Texas Medical Center.

In 1948, Michael E. DeBakey joined the faculty as chair of the Department of Surgery, and the following year, The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was established. The College's rise in prominence began in the 1950s when Dr. DeBakey's innovative surgical techniques garnered international attention. In the 1960s, the college underwent its first major expansion.

In 1969, the College separated from Baylor University and became an independent institution, which allowed it access to federal research funding. The institution's name changed to Baylor College of Medicine. That same year, the College entered into an agreement with the state legislature to double its class size in order to increase the number of physicians in Texas.

Baylor College of Medicine opened the Baylor Clinic on June 29, 2005, and was in the process of building a hospital and clinic, to be called The Baylor Hospital, which was slated to open sometime in 2011. In 2009, the college postponed construction, due to lack of funds. The outer shell of the hospital has been completed, while the interiors remain unfinished. In March 2012 it was decided that BCM will not finish its partially constructed hospital started in 2006 but will instead convert the building to house its outpatient clinics. In 2009, BCM entered into extensive discussions with Rice University regarding a potential merger between the two Houston institutions. After many meetings between the two schools, the boards at both institutions mutually decided that each school would be better off as an independent entity. Following this development, Baylor University entered into talks with BCM with a goal of strengthening ties to the medical school, however, the BCM board decided that it would remain an independent institution for the time being.