VCOM 2024 Annual Report

medicine specialists. Gunnar Brolinson, DO, was named the head team physician and fellowship director. The program was so successful that it has been replicated on VCOM’s Auburn campus. Growing the VCOM Mission VCOM leadership, while working to meet the needs of Southwest and Southside Virginia, recognized the need to expand the mission to other areas of the Appalachian region, including the mountainous areas of North Carolina and the Piedmont area of upstate South Carolina. The College opened a clinical site for the students in these areas and it wasn’t long before VCOM was approached by the City of Spartanburg and the Spartanburg Regional Hospital to establish a second campus in South Carolina. VCOM-Carolinas broke ground in 2010 on the site of the historic Spartan Mill. By 2011, the first students arrived, and the College became a catalyst for a critical and forward-thinking redevelopment of the area. VCOM-Carolinas saw the graduation of its first class in 2015, and it maintains its primary care and rural mission focus, producing more graduates practicing in medically underserved areas than the other two medical schools within South Carolina. Meanwhile, in 2011, the president of Auburn University, Jay Gogue, shared his concerns about the physician shortages in Alabama with the president of Virginia Tech, who shared the news of VCOM’s success in meeting the needs of rural Virginia. As a result, Auburn University sought to establish a public/private partnership with VCOM and launch a campus in Auburn, Alabama. The campus opened to its first class of medical students in 2015.

2001

Charter established for the College. VCOM is founded in Blacksburg, Virginia.

2002

Construction begins for VCOM-Virginia at the Virginia Tech CRC; leadership makes first visits to D.C.

2003

The first class of students is welcomed by founding dean Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, and president James F. Wolfe, PhD.

2004

The College adds its first dedicated research facilities, located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in the RB II building.

2006

VCOM launches a nationally recognized Sports Medicine Fellowship with Virginia Tech. The program has extended to the Auburn campus.

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INTRODUCTION