CMU looks to add medical school in Saginaw

Central Michigan University is looking at building a medical school sometime in the near future.

The proposed site would be a previously vacant plot of approximately 60 acres of land in Saginaw along the Saginaw River.

The project would be backed by Sam Kottamasu, a CMU trustee. It is estimated that the school would cost somewhere between $30 million and $50 million. Additionally, it would cost in the area of $7 million annually to keep the school running.

At first, it would be expected that 50 students or so would be admitted into the first class. However, the hope would be to add more students to each new class and eventually have a class size of 150 to 200 students.

The school would come at an opportune time. According to state officials, a shortage of physicians may reach as high as 6,000 within the next 10 years or so.

Talks of a medical school are no guarantee that any action will take place, however.

“We are still in the feasibility phase of the proposed
Project,” said CMU spokesman Steve Smith.

Any action would not result in a school being built until at least the year 2012, at the earliest.

A medical school located away from the main campus would be nothing new around Michigan. Michigan State University has a medical school located in Grand Rapids.

Having the school in Saginaw would allow for easier access for patients to work with as compared to Mt. Pleasant.