January 3, 2007: Announcement of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Three visionaries—Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger, Carilion Clinic President and Chief Executive Officer Edward G. Murphy, and Virginia Govenor Tim Kaine—join to announce the creation of a public-private partnership in the form of a new medical school and research institute. The mission of the new institution, they say, is to improve human health and quality of life by providing leadership in medical education and biomedical and clinical research.

June 3, 2009: Preliminary Accreditation Granted

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine receives preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The designation indicates the school meets nationally accepted standards of educational quality and is the final step necessary for the school to recruit students and begin operation.

August 2, 2010: Charter Class Enters

The doors to a brand-new building open for the first day of classes. Members of the community are on hand to welcome the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s charter class. Dean Cynda Johnson proudly says, “The caliber of the individuals we selected is exceptional.”

May 7, 2011: Grand Opening Celebration

Hundreds of members of the Roanoke community join in the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute open house and ribbon cutting.

June 2012: Provisional Accreditation Granted

The school comes one step closer to full accreditation when the Liaison Committee on Medical Education grants provisional accreditation, the third of four stages in the accreditation process. The same month, the the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting body of degree-granting higher education institutions in the South, grants the school candidacy status. “We’re thrilled to receive this designation, which is a hallmark of educational excellence,” Johnson says. At the end of the accreditation committee’s site visit, Johnson notes, one of the evaluators had turned to her and said, “You must be bursting with pride.”

July 2012: Charter Class Starts Clerkships

Members of the charter class embark on clinical clerkships for the first time. On their inaugural day, at sites throughout Roanoke, the students listen to patient heartbeats, deliver mannequin babies, answer questions about diseases, and practice tying surgical knots. Over the next two years they will undertake clerkships in a range of specialties, from internal medicine and pediatrics to psychiatry, emergency medicine, and surgery.

August 2013: Fourth Class Enters, for a Full House

The fourth class enters, and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine reaches full capacity. The school’s reputation for educational excellence is spreading. Less than 2 percent of the nearly 2,900 applicants were accepted to be part of the Class of 2017.

March 21, 2014: First Match Day

As the countdown begins in the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s auditorium, members of the charter class clutch sealed envelopes with letters detailing where they will be spending the next phase of their medical careers. At noon, they open their envelopes and, in a short flurry, the suspense is over. Matches included such heavy hitters as Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Northwestern, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Vanderbilt. All members of the class receive a residency of their choice.

March 24, 2014: First Research Day

Students present on a wide range of topics, including acute sleep deprivation, rotavirus assembly, genotyping, contamination in pre-hospital care environments, effectiveness of the pneumonia vaccine in the elderly, and depression in patients with brain tumors. An emphasis on research is one of the school’s four value domains and sets it apart from other medical schools.

May 10, 2014: Graduation of the Charter Class

Forty exceptional students—members of the charter class at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine—take a short walk across the stage and a giant leap into the future as the nation’s newest doctors. Class president Matthew Joy says, “At Virginia Tech Carilion, we have been educated, guided, molded, and—most importantly—inspired to be better physicians.”

June 19, 2014: Full Accreditation Granted

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine becomes the nation’s newest fully accredited medical school.