USA College of Medicine allocated $60 million for expansion and renovation

An artist rendering shows the planned expansion and renovation of the College of Medicine.

The expansion and renovation of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine building is one large step closer to reality thanks to a $60 million appropriation from U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. The appropriations bill was approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

This allocation follows a $50 million earmark from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and a $30 million gift from the University of South Alabama Foundation.

“The $60 million allocation for the College of Medicine is more than a commitment of financial support. It is a commitment to our faculty, researchers and students, as well as to the communities that our graduates serve,” said USA President Jo Bonner. “Sen. Shelby has spent a lifetime in service to Alabama and to our coastal region. This appropriation is another example of his tireless and steadfast commitment to Alabamians and to the state as a place to live and work.”

“Sen. Shelby again has demonstrated his desire to improve conditions within Alabama now and into the future,” said John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the USA College of Medicine. “New facilities will enable our recruitment of high-quality faculty and students as the leading academic health system along the Gulf Coast, and it will ensure our continued ability to provide top-level education and research for the next generations of physicians and scientists for the state of Alabama.”

Bonner and Marymont again expressed their gratitude to Governor Ivey and the USA Foundation for their support for the future of the USA College of Medicine.

Recent statistics demonstrate that the USA College of Medicine is in the 71st percentile of all allopathic medical schools whose alumni practice in-state. Alumni are in the 88th percentile who practice in primary care disciplines, 77th percentile who practice in rural areas and in the 96th percentile who practice in underserved areas. The USA College of Medicine is in the 71st percentile of medical schools in terms of Black or African American graduates.

USA plans to break ground in the next year on this project, which will include new construction and an extensive renovation of the existing structure, which was completed in 1974.