Posted on December 8, 2023
University of South Alabama leadership and supporters on Friday broke ground on a new building for the Frederick P. Weedon College of Medicine. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
The University of South Alabama on Friday broke ground on a new 250,000-square-foot Frederick P. Weedon College of Medicine building, which will allow the university to graduate more doctors and accelerate research and innovation. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and other supporters attended the event on the Southern University campus.
The $200 million facility, which is scheduled to be completed in 2026, will serve as a center for medical education on the campus featuring the College of Nursing, the Pat Capps Coffey College of Allied Health Professions, the Health Simulation Building, and the Charles M. Bowe Biomedical Library. . When the new building opens, more than 500,000 square feet of campus facilities will be dedicated to healthcare education and research.
“This facility will provide our future students with the most advanced learning and research opportunities anywhere in the country,” said US President Joe Boehner. “It will transform medicine to address the unique needs of our community while educating and training the next generation of providers.”
The new School of Medicine building at Weedon will provide modern laboratory spaces that will create flexibility and efficiency for research today and into the future. It will also allow the class size of first-year medical students to be expanded from 80 to 100, with the potential to increase to 120 in the future, at the same time as the country faces an expected shortage of healthcare providers.
“This is an investment in the future of health care to meet the needs of Alabamians,” said Dr. John Mariemont, dean of Weedon College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs. “By national standards, this medical school produces high-quality physicians who remain in the state, helping to meet the needs of primary care as well as in rural and underserved areas at a reasonable cost.”
The Weedon School of Medicine at the University of South Alabama is one of 158 accredited doctoral-granting institutions in the United States, and one of only two in the state. More than 1,139 of its graduates practice medicine in Alabama. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States consistently ranks first nationally for graduates who practice in underserved areas.
Key stakeholders responded to help invest in health care in the state. In one of his final acts as a U.S. Senator from Alabama, Richard Shelby allocated $60 million in federal appropriations for the new facility. The United States Foundation contributed $30 million, while the State of Alabama provided $50 million to support the project.
“Alabama proudly recognizes the value of Weedon College of Medicine, and by breaking ground on this state-of-the-art facility, we are strengthening the position of one of our state’s premier institutions for connecting our employees to the care they need,” he said. Governor Kay Ivey. “From larger collections to greater research capabilities, this new facility will take an already excellent program to the next level.”
Many others also recognized the urgent need to build a new medical college. The city of Mobile will provide $10 million, and Mobile County has pledged $5 million. Alabama Power, the Care Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, the Bedsole Foundation, the Daniel Foundation and others also made transformational gifts.
“We have put out a call for support to provide a building that matches the quality of education for our students,” Bonner said. “Their work shows that they understand the critical value that an academic health system brings to its local community and throughout the state.”
The university has set an additional philanthropic goal of $30 million to see the project through to completion. Gifts can be pledged over five years and recognized by naming opportunities forever.
Shortly after the establishment of the University of South Alabama in 1963, President Frederick P. Weedon began discussions with community and state leaders about establishing a medical college in Mobile. In 1973, this vision became a reality, and the class was accepted into a medical school in the United States of America. One year later, the Medical Sciences Building was completed as the home of Weedon Medical School.
The University of South Alabama and USA Health employ more than 11,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in the region.
Other donors include:
- Dr. and Mrs. Charles Rodning
- Dr. J.B. Craven
- Medical Alumni Association of the United States of America
- Gerber Taylor
- Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Stokes
- Dr. Glenn Wilson
- Sullivan family
- Family of Dr. C. William Daniels
