UGA breaks ground for medical school set to open in 2026

ATHENS ― The University of Georgia is moving forward with plans for what will become the second public medical school in the state.

Construction will soon begin on an expected $100 million facility at the current UGA health sciences campus, where medical students have attended since 2010 in partnership with Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia.

“The work done at this school will further set Georgia apart as a leader in shaping our future as a nation and the world,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The medical school is expected to open in 2026 and will double enrollment from the Augusta University/UGA partnership, from 60 students currently to at least 120, according to Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University of Georgia System.

“That’s going to be great to have more of these white coats around here that are going to be our physicians going forward,” said Perdue, the former governor and U.S. secretary of agriculture.

In February, both chambers of the state legislature approved $50 million in state funds for the school. University of Georgia President Jere Morehead said another $50 million would be raised through private contributions.

“We are well on our way to achieving that goal,” Morehead added.

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Dr. Shelley Nuss, campus dean of the Augusta University/UGA medical partnership, was named earlier this month by Morehead as the founding dean of the UGA School of Medicine. She said the creation of the medical school will help address a growing shortage of physicians across the state and country. Nine counties in Georgia currently have no doctor and one in 10

Georgians live in a county with just one doctor, according to Nuss.

“Georgia needs more doctors, and they need them now,” she said.

Smyrna native Alex Bergeron, a current medical student in Athens, said additional public enrollment will be beneficial because many students currently are forced to decide between attending private or out-of-state medical schools.

“This just makes sense to increase the pipeline of students for graduate medical education,” he said. “This will help the state get more doctors.”

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