More than 1,400 students, faculty and staff from Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) plan to relocate temporarily to Knoxville, Tenn. to continue their program of study after Hurricane Maria damaged the medical school’s home country of Dominica in September. Currently, students are completing their fall semester medical sciences curriculum on a cruise ship ported off the island of St. Kitts and plan to begin their winter semester at the new facilities.
RUSM plans to relocate to facilities owned by Lincoln Memorial University (LMU). LMU, based in Harrogate and with operations in Knoxville, will provide the necessary operational capacity and the technical capabilities to support RUSM faculty, students and staff.
“While the island of Dominica continues to rebuild, we are pleased to have forged this arrangement with an outstanding university like LMU,” said William F. Owen, MD, dean and chancellor of RUSM. “The continuity of our students’ education and their academic programming is our highest priority, and we are pleased to work with LMU to make these extraordinary facilities available.”
RUSM plans to continue to use its own medical sciences curriculum and faculty while making use of the LMU teaching and office facilities, including an anatomy lab. Efforts are underway by
RUSM and Adtalem Global Education to acquire all necessary regulatory approvals and finalize other details.
“Lincoln Memorial University is proud to be able to assist Ross University School of Medicine under these extreme circumstances. As an institution with a strong commitment to combating health care shortages in Appalachia and beyond, there is a synergy in providing the students and faculty of RUSM a home away from home while they rebuild from this fall’s devastating hurricanes,” said LMU Chairman Autry O.V. “Pete” DeBusk. “Our recent purchase of the spacious west Knoxville property enables us to step up to help RUSM. Over the next year, LMU will continue to develop its plans to further expand its health offerings in Knoxville. In the meantime, we’re pleased to accommodate RUSM with an excellent facility that is well-suited in size and scale to meet the needs of a medical school curriculum.”
Lincoln Memorial University operates three extended learning sites in the greater Knoxville area including the LMU-Duncan School of Law, nursing at Physicians Regional Medical Center and business, education and nursing at the LMU Cedar Bluff Extended Learning Site.