Officials in the College of Human Medicine, or CHM, are planning to use a $2.8 million grant from a philanthropic organization to expand the college’s presence in Flint.
CHM Dean Marsha Rappley said they expect to use a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to bring in additional faculty researchers to the community, expand the number of third- and fourth-year students working in three Flint-area hospitals and build upon CHM’s existing master’s in public health program in the area.
Currently, 350 CHM students are involved in medical student training programs in the city’s three hospitals.
The college’s class sizes are not slated to expand.
CHM is closing down its two community programs in Kalamazoo and Saginaw within the next two years, and some CHM students are expected to be relocated to other areas in the state, including Flint, Rappley said.
The Mott grant also will be used to develop a facility focused on community engagement and add six or seven faculty researchers to focus on topics related to public health.
Faculty will be recruited in line with standards of current college departments, Rappley said.
It’s likely the new facility will be located closer to downtown Flint to allow for a larger presence in the city, Rappley said.
“Right now, the classroom setting is in one of our hospitals,” she said. “As we think about the community engagement approach, it makes sense to bring the students to a more central part of downtown.”
She added the college will continue to work with each of Flint’s hospitals.
Rappley said the college will not be closing down any programs in East Lansing and instead will be expanding them in Flint.
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