In today's competitive health-care environment, this is no longer an option, and the medical school is undergoing a major transformation as it develops other sources of revenue. In the meantime, the school's ability to provide financial aid for deserving students is constrained, and research space remains at a premium. This situation hinders efforts to attract some of the nation's best researchers and makes grant proposals to federal agencies and private foundations less competitive. To overcome this challenge, the School of Medicine has broken ground for a new biomedical research building with lead funding from the Whitaker Foundation. This building will house the University's rapidly growing biomedical engineering program.
Planning is currently under way for a second research building.
Private donors have generously contributed to health initiatives, making the capital campaign for the Health System extraordinarily successful. In the months ahead, the Health System Campaign will focus on funding research programs and new laboratories.