As Florida Atlantic University begins its year-long 50th anniversary celebration, it is launching a new program that promises to deliver huge benefits to both the people and the economy of South Florida. We received notification that FAU's independent medical education program has been granted preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a joint committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association. The LCME is the recognized accrediting authority for medical schools throughout the United States and Canada.
This action followed last year's approval of the program by the Florida Board of Governors, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Crist. Preliminary accreditation means we can now start recruiting students for our 64-member charter class, which will arrive on FAU's Boca Raton campus this fall. It would be difficult to overstate the importance of this development to the university and the community at large.
By opening the doors of the first public school of medicine in this area, FAU is giving local students who wish to become physicians the opportunity to pursue their dream. An estimated 90 percent of the 256 students who will ultimately be enrolled in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU will be Florida residents. Thanks to the generosity of the Schmidt Family Foundation, FAU's medical school is housed in a $20 million facility equipped with the most modern clinical teaching tools. An innovative curriculum has been developed that includes extensive hands-on experience with patients. More than 250 physicians are participating in our program, and affiliations have been established with eight leading hospitals in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
