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School of Medicine History
In 1951, the West Virginia legislature passed a tax on soft drinks, known as the "pop tax," to fund the construction of University Hospital. In 1960, University Hospital opened and the WVU School of Medicine established a four-year curriculum. The School awarded its first medical degrees in 1962. The Pylons are a work of art, reflecting the history that marks the entrance to the health sciences center. In 1972, the Charleston Division of the Health Sciences Center was established. Ruby Memorial Hospital opened in 1988, replacing University Hospital. Chestnut Ridge Hospital, a psychiatric and chemical dependency facility, also opened in 1988. The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, Physician Office Center, and Mountainview Rehabilitation Hospital opened in 1990. In 1993, the Health Sciences Center was named for U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd.
Plans are underway for the construction of a $40 million facility that will house the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute -- named for U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller's mother, who died of Alzheimer's disease. Ruby Hospital will also undergo an expansion of beds and operating rooms in beginning in 2003. |
The story of West Virginia University's Health Sciences Center is a story of growth and change. WVU was established in 1867 as a land grant university. Some medical courses were part of the curriculum in the university's earliest years, but the first comprehensive medical education program was not established until 1903. An agreement with the College of Physicians in Baltimore allowed WVU students to complete their first two years of medical education in Morgantown and their final two years in Maryland. 
Today, WVU's Health Sciences Campus is a large, modern medical complex that includes Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy, three hospitals, a physician office building, and state-of-the-art cancer and eye centers. The School of Medicine serves more than 2,500 students with a variety of educational programs -- including medicine, physical and occupational therapy, medical technology, physical therapy, exercise physiology, continuing medical education, and others. Faculty members provide advanced clinical care to more than 100,000 West Virginians throughout the state. The institution is making a major investment in new state-of-the-art facilities and improvements in education, research, and clinical care.