Our Mission

For the better part of two centuries, the medical school's mission has been a balance of teaching, research, and patient care. In more recent times, the School of Medicine has defined its mission as "the constant improvement of the quality of health care for citizens of Virginia using innovative, scholarly activity to create new knowledge, to provide better systems of medical education, and to develop more effective health care methods."

Medical Education

The VCU School of Medicine is located on the historic Medical College of Virginia Campus. Tracing its founding to 1838, the medical school is both the oldest and largest in Virginia. With more than 700 students pursuing medical degrees, the school also offers dozens of masters, doctoral and interdisciplinary programs, including a masters in genetics counseling and a Ph.D. program in epidemiology.

Patient Care

The medical school’s faculty provides innovative care to patients from all economic backgrounds at the VCU Medical Center. Staffing more than 200 specialty areas, the medical school’s faculty treats patients from across Virginia as well as neighboring states. The largest single provider of indigent health-care in Virginia, the Medical Center is also the site of Central Virginia’s only Level I trauma center, the first civilian burn center in the nation, and the country’s second oldest transplant program.

Research

The medical school accounts for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research awards and for 87 percent of the university’s NIH funding. Recently, the school unveiled a more-than-$300-million Strategic Plan for Research. A roadmap for enhancing the school’s research capabilities, the plan calls for an infusion of human capital and physical infrastructure that will invigorate a culture of scientific discovery.

Partnerships

Collaborations have created new opportunities for students and faculty members. In Northern Virginia , 48 third- and fourth-year students are training at Inova Fairfax Hospital . On the international front, a variety of programs connect the MCV Campus with VCU partner universities in Italy, India and England. Closer to home, the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park gives faculty and students an incubator in which to grow bioscience companies as well as research programs.

Explore

I invite you to explore the medical school’s Web site, where you will find information on the programs described above as well as on the other initiatives, innovations, and individuals that make our medical school an extraordinary place.

Jerome F. Strauss III, M.D., Ph.D.
Dean of the School of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System