NORFOLK (AP) -- The College of William and Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School have agreed to explore the feasibility of having EVMS become the William and Mary School of Medicine.
The schools announced the exploration process in a joint statement on Wednesday. The College of William and Mary is located in Williamsburg and EVMS is in Norfolk. EVMS has no correlating undergraduate institution.
The joint statement says that before a decision can be made by either school, each must carefully investigate the implications of such a combination. The statement says it is not known how long that will take. If the schools decide to proceed, it would require the approval of the General Assembly and the governor.
EVMS President Harry T. Lester said, 'The fact that one of the oldest, most prestigious colleges in the country would consider affiliating with us speaks volumes about the groundbreaking work our faculty, staff and students are achieving every day. While we won't know for some time how this will work out, I think this is a tremendous compliment and an opportunity worth exploring.'
W&M PRESIDENT'S CAMPUS MESSAGE:
Dear William & Mary Community,
Later today we will issue a joint statement with Eastern Virginia Medical School saying that both institutions will take a long, hard look at whether EVMS should become the William & Mary School of Medicine. This statement is below.
There are miles to go and much information to be developed and studied before either W&M or EVMS will be ready to make a decision, one way or the other. Any such combination would require approval by the College's Board of Visitors as well as the Governor and General Assembly.
It will be important to engage the W&M community in consideration of this possibility. To that end, I will ask a group, led by the Provost, to pull the laboring oar on our due diligence.
In my view, the EVMS possibility is worth careful consideration. EVMS is an institution we know and respect. Many W&M graduates have gone to medical school there. And there has been productive research collaboration between the two schools.
Whether asking for state approval of this combination will ultimately prove to be in our best interests, all factors considered, is what we must now carefully determine. The same, obviously, is true of EVMS from its perspective.
Taylor Reveley
Joint Statement by William & Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School:
The College of William & Mary and Eastern Virginia Medical School have agreed to exclusively explore the feasibility of having EVMS become the William & Mary School of Medicine. Before a decision can be made by either W&M or EVMS, each must carefully investigate the implications of such a combination. It is not known how long the necessary due diligence will take. If W&M and EVMS decide to proceed, the approval of the General Assembly and Governor will be required.
AP-WF-07-25-12 1409GMT
