University of Central Florida administrators scrapped a multi-million dollar plan to build a dental school near its college of medicine in Lake Nona.

The university’s plan to build the dental school was announced in May. A key committee was set to review its plans Wednesday and the Florida Board of Governors would have voted on the matter Thursday.

But UCF withdrew its plan.

In a written statement, a UCF spokesman said the project would not require state money, but the university decided not to go continue with it anyway.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/29720900/detail.html#ixzz1gK8GsBua

For years this editorial board has encouraged and applauded the development of Orlando’s Medical City at Lake Nona. We believe its success is critical to building a broader, stronger economy in Central Florida — an economy that goes beyond tourism and construction.

So we can’t help but be drawn to a proposal to locate a new University of Central Florida College of Dental Medicine at the Medical City. The proposal, to be considered this week by UCF’s Board of Trustees, calls for a dental school that would open in 2014 and graduate about 100 dentists a year.

A dental school would be a natural fit with the medical facilities already operating or under construction at Lake Nona. They include the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, UCF’s College of Medicine, the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Nemours Children’s Hospital. A dental school would be another Medical City magnet for highly trained professionals and research grants. You know…jobs.

UCF projects the dental school would pump $73 million into the region’s economy during its construction, and at least $69 million a year during its operation.

Continue Reading: UCF dental school at the Medical City would boost the region’s health care and economy

University of Central Florida plans to open a dental school near its College of Medicine in the heart of Lake Nona’s Medical City.

UCF officials announced Thursday that they’re looking to open a College of Dental Medicine in 2014 that would graduate about 100 dentists a year.

But some state officials and administrators at other universities already have begun questioning the need for more dental schools in Florida.

There are only three accredited dental schools statewide: in Gainesville, Bradenton and Fort Lauderdale. UCF is one of at least three public universities discussing plans either to build a new dental school or expand an existing program.

The University of Florida in Gainesville, educating dentists since the 1970s and home to one of the nation’s top programs, has been trying to expand for years. It has met resistance from the State University System, though — mostly because of a lack of funding, said Teresa Dolan, the college’s dean.

Dolan said Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in Tallahassee is researching the possibility of opening a dental school and could be bringing a proposal forward soon. FAMU refers to its plans on its website.

UCF officials said they don’t plan to seek state money and that the project would be self-sustaining through tuition and other resources. The university plans to borrow about $40 million to pay startup costs. A private donor also has committed $10 million to the project.

Not only is a dental school needed in Central Florida, but there also is a demand for one, according to the university.

Continue Reading: UCF plans to open dental school in 2014

Today’s economy is both a stressful and terrifying time for graduates. With Florida’s high unemployment rate, some graduates remain in school longer than necessary rather than face the harsh reality that is today’s job market.

However, life after graduation isn’t as scary of a thought for all graduates. UCF’s Medical Laboratory Science program, offered through the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, provides its graduates with countless job placement opportunities upon graduation.

“So few people know about the profession, and there are so few programs across the country,” said Dorilyn Hitchcock, director of the Medical Laboratory Science program. “The UCF program is one of only two university-based MLS programs in Florida. With the majority of individuals working in hospital labs being ‘baby boomers’ and so few students graduating, the rate of retirement is higher than the new grads to fill positions.”

Continue Reading

Source: Orlando Sentinel

The University of Central Florida’s $69.5 million College of Medicine at Lake Nona in southeast Orlando is seeking silver certification from the United States Green Building Council.

The four-story, 175,000-square-foot facility reduced its potential environmental impacts in several categories: a 64 percent reduction in water use for irrigation, a 48 percent reduction in indoor-water use, a 21 percent reduction in energy use, non-ozone-depleting refrigerants, reflective roofing to reduce cooling costs, and the lowest power-using flat-screen monitors currently available in North America

Orlando already has 13 gold-level buildings and one silver.

Altamonte Springs-based specialty contractor Randall Mechanical Inc. completed $8 million of specialty heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing work at the project.

Continue Reading

A new $655-million Veteran’s Affairs hospital is being built, so is a 95-bed children’s specialty hospital by the nonprofit Nemours Foundation. The University of Central Florida is building a medical school and the nonprofit Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute opened a 178,000 square-foot research facility a year ago.

Even with massive construction cranes scattered around the park, vast amounts of acreage waits for future ground-breaking ceremonies and development signs to promote more things to come. The city has a “bio Orlando” pitch.

Five years ago, none of it existed and the land was barren, much like the landscape in eastern Collier County where the Economic Development Council and local government leaders hope to build Collier’s version of a bio-medical park.

Continue Reading

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has joined the list of developers and landowners hoping to cash in on the “medical city” that’s rising out of pasture land in southeastern Orange County.

For more than 20 years, GOAA has owned an 1,800-acre parcel of vacant land south of the airport, originally purchased to provide wetlands mitigation to offset development at the airport itself.

But now the land is surrounded by some of the hottest development projects in Central Florida. And GOAA planners are dusting off plans — first drafted in mid-decade — to turn the so-called “Poitras property,” named for its previous owners, into a mixed-use development site over the next decade or so.

To the north, Orlando’s future “medical city” is rising — a children’s and a veterans’ hospital, along with the new University of Central Florida medical school, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, and a new University of Florida academic and research center.

To the east sits the upscale Lake Nona mixed-use community, while due south is some of Osceola County’s hottest property, including the 12,000-acre “Northeast District” project proposed on the Desert Ranch property owned by the Mormon church.

Continue Reading

Marcia Verduin, M.D., a psychiatrist who has held leadership roles at the University of Central Florida’s new medical since 2007, has been appointed associate dean for students.

She previously served as assistant dean for students and replaces Randolph Manning, who has retired.

In her new role, Verduin, shown at left, will continue to work on medical students’ quality of life issues. With the inaugural class of 41 students already having completed its first year of studies, Verduin is in the process of preparing for the arrival of the second class, this time 60 students.

The first two classes are scheduled to start classes in August in the new medical school building in Lake Nona.

Continue Reading

Source: today.ucf.edu

The day after finishing their final exams, 24 students from the UCF College of Medicine’s charter class ran a 24.7-mile “Nonathon” relay race Thursday to celebrate the college’s upcoming move to Lake Nona and raise money for student scholarships.

The students began the relay at 6 a.m. at the UCF Reflecting Pond at the Orlando campus and finished at the College of Medicine’s Tavistock Green in Lake Nona about five hours later. They ran in shifts of two-to-four runners for most of the race but all 24 runners participated in the final leg, 2.2 miles down Lake Nona Boulevard and into medical city. The runners hope to raise about $1,000 from sponsors to donate to the College of Medicine Scholarship Fund and make the Nonathon an annual event.

Continue Reading

Construction is scheduled to begin in July for a University of Florida research and academic center in the developing “medical city” in Lake Nona.

The UF College of Pharmacy’s academic program will be a principal occupant of the planned four-story, 115,000-square foot building.

The state Board of Governors on Wednesday designated the planned building a center, which means the facility will offer a limited range of courses.

The UF center will be located next to the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research and near the University of Central Florida’s permanent medical school.

The center will support research in health fields such as pharmacy, dentistry, medicine, nursing and public health. It will include classrooms, administrative and faculty offices and a drug development center.

The state allocated $6 million for design and site preparation in 2008. Lake Nona Research I, LLC donated the more than 5-acre location in October.