Oakland University

A Brief History
Oakland University CampusOakland University (Oakland) and Beaumont Hospital (Beaumont) were founded at approximately the same time, half a century ago, in close proximity to each other and in a region of greater Detroit. Today, Oakland is one of 15 public universities in Michigan. Oakland has an enrollment exceeding 18,000 students and a Carnegie classification of doctoral/research university-intensive. Meanwhile, Beaumont has flourished into a three-hospital regional healthcare provider. Beaumont is now a 1700-bed tertiary care, teaching, research and referral hospital system.

Oakland and Beaumont both recognized the negative impact that a physician shortage would have on the quality of health care available to the residents of Michigan. Following exploratory discussions, including discussions with community leaders, it was concluded that the combined faculty, staff and infrastructure resources of Oakland and Beaumont provide a remarkably strong base on which to build a new medical school to help satisfy the demand for physicians in Michigan and the nation. In January 2007, Oakland and Beaumont submitted a letter of intent to the LCME to initiate the formal process of accrediting a new allopathic medical school. The initiative to fund a new medical school was approved by both the Beaumont Hospital Board of Directors and the Oakland University Board of Trustees on July 31, 2008.

Dr. Folberg became Founding Dean of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in September, 2008. He came to the School of Medicine from the University of Illinois at Chicago where he was the Frances B Geever Professor of Pathology and Head of the Department of Pathology. He was also a Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at UIC.

Dr. Folberg received a BA degree from LaSalle College in Philadelphia (now LaSalle University) and his MD degree from Temple University. He is board certified in Anatomic Pathology and Ophthalmology. He began his academic career at Thomas Jefferson University Medical School in 1982, and moved in 1984 to the University of Iowa where he became the first Frederick C. Blodi Professor of Ophthalmology. He moved to UIC in 2000.

Dr. Folberg is a clinician scientist who was funded for 20 years by the NIH to study the biology of uveal melanoma. While head of pathology at UIC, he served as deputy director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center from 2003 to 2005. He has published more than 200 original articles and book chapters. He is recognized for innovation in medical education and continues to teach pathology of the eye to medical institutions within and outside the United States. He also continues his consultation practice of ophthalmic pathology at Beaumont Health System where he is Beaumont's Chief Academic Officer.

Dr. Folberg has engaged in distributed medical services. While head of pathology at UIC, his department launched a reference laboratory system that provided advanced diagnostic services throughout Illinois with presence in 37 states.

About the OUWB Culture
Creating and Sustaining the Humanistic Culture of Scholarship and Service at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

When the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine was being formed, a physician leader at the Beaumont Health System challenged us with a question: "How does one train a physician to be kind?"

The work of building the culture of the new Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine is our response to this important question. We understand the opportunity: it is easier to create a new culture than to change an existing culture. Our school brings many innovations to medical education. We consider our culture to be our most significant innovation.

In the years to come, we, the school's founders, will no longer be here. The buildings may be different. The science that is taught will have surely advanced. Educational technologies and methods, now considered to be "best practices" will be replaced by more effective practices. The culture of the school that we establish today, however, can be transmitted - one generation of faculty and staff to another, and one generation of students to another. The culture that we establish today may influence the practice of medicine by everyone who will ever attend our school. Therefore, our culture can influence the life of every patient who will ever be seen by our students.

It is difficult to change a culture. We therefore understand the urgency embedded in our "newness" because we are blessed with the rare opportunity to design an entire medical school culture. Our culture is not a series of courses or programs or an institute grafted onto a school or hospital system. Our culture emerges from a generous investment of attention and care to every detail of our daily work. We aspire to facilitate the growth of a medical student into a physician who achieves at levels that surpass competency, who is compassionate, who listens with focused intensity, and who communicates clearly with elevated cultural awareness. We expect our graduates who become scientists and clinician-scientists to understand that the endpoint of every experiment is a patient awaiting an answer.

LCME Accreditation
The Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine has been granted preliminary accreditation by the LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education). The LCME is the organization responsible for accrediting all programs in the United States leading to the M.D. degree.

Why is LCME accreditation important?
Accreditation signifies that national standards for structure, function, and performance are met by a medical school's education program leading to the M.D. degree. LCME accreditation is required for schools to receive federal grants for medical education and to participate in federal loan programs. Students and graduates of LCME-accredited medical schools are eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). These graduates also have eligibility to enter residencies approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Graduating from an LCME-accredited U.S. school and passing the national licensing examinations are accepted as prerequisities for medical licensure in most states (Source: LCME).

NCA Accreditation
Oakland University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities. In 2009 the Higher Learning Commission of the NCA conducted a comprehensive visit of Oakland University. The next comprehensive visit is not scheduled until 2019 and no follow up reports or visits were required. The university requested a focused visit on the School of Medicine and it was conducted in January 2010. A report on the focused visit is expected in 2010.

Oakland University Degree Programs :

Medicine

Nursing

Allied Health Science

Video Presentation

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Michigan's newest medical school the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine is now accepting applications for student admissions! Take a behind the scenes tour of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine!