Central Michigan Life – ‘The benefit here is for the entire region’

Publisher’s Note: Central Michigan Living Managing Editor Masha Smahliuk wrote this story as a news intern for WCMU at the Midland Daily News. This story was first published on July 26 at onzemidland.com and July 29 at WCMU.com.

Central Michigan University’s medical school plans to move its campus to Saginaw.

The new campus will cost $200 million and the move is scheduled to take place in 2028, said Dr. George Kikano, dean of CMED.

“That’s a very bold move,” he said. “That’s an aggressive timeline. It’s an aggressive capital campaign. But the benefit of this is for the entire region, from Mount Pleasant to Saginaw.

“Not only does this have an economic impact on Saginaw, it also puts CMU on the map.”

What does this move mean for Mount Pleasant?

Kikano said most of the third- and fourth-year medical students are already studying at CMU’s Saginaw campus. The plan is to move first- and second-year students there as well.

That’s about 200 students leaving Mount Pleasant.

“Two hundred students out of 14,000… it probably won’t have that big of an (economic) impact if we move those 200,” Kikano said.

According to Mount Pleasant City Manager Aaron Desentz, the city does not yet have exact figures that can indicate the economic impact of these students leaving the area.

“If people are leaving the area, that means money is leaving the area,” Desentz said. “At the same time, we are hopeful and optimistic because Central Michigan University’s plan is to support those students in some way, by expanding other programs.”

Kikano said CMU hopes to introduce new and different programs to the Mount Pleasant campus. In a July 15 article published by CMU News, university President Bob Davies said those programs could include nursing, physician assistant, athletic training and more.

The research facilities will also remain on the Mount Pleasant campus, Kikano said.

Meanwhile, Kikano told faculty and staff where to live. Some of them, he said, already live in Saginaw.

Overall, CMU is the second-largest employer in Mount Pleasant, after the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Soaring Eagle Casino, according to Desentz.

Amanda Garrison, president of the CMU Faculty Association, said CMED faculty are not union members and have not signed a faculty contract.

But Garrison said that as far as she knew, they loved Mount Pleasant.

“Faculty lives here,” Garrison said. “Faculty spends money here. Faculty has kids here, faculty works here. … We need Mount Pleasant.”

Mount Pleasant needs CMU too, Desentz said.

“It’s a very impactful organization overall,” he said. “And then you have, let’s say, about 13,000 students who are affiliated with the university … their families who come regularly, every faculty, you’re talking about a significant portion of the population (of Mount Pleasant).”

Desentz said one of the city’s future goals is to connect more with CMU and create learning opportunities for students, such as internships with the city, companies and other organizations.

“I just want to see a lot of these things grow because (they) give students real world experience,” Desentz said. “But (the university) also obviously gives the city the benefit of well-educated young men and women coming here and creating value.”

Garrison said it is important to work with the local community and continue to strengthen the relationship between CMU and Mount Pleasant.

“We have to be together,” she said. “You can’t be disconnected from the community.”

CMED is moving to Saginaw, in part to expand its medical program. CMU Trustee Todd Anson said at the June 25 Board of Trustees meeting that the university wants to increase the number of medical students, to 150 per class.

He said Saginaw is a good location for medical students because they have the opportunity to train in the community’s hospitals. Those facilities offer more beds than clinics in Mount Pleasant, which is important for education, Anson said.

Why Saginaw?

The idea for CMED was put forward by the Board of Trustees in 2008, according to the Clarke Historical Library collection. Classes began in August 2013; the first class had 64 students.

The program was originally focused on rural areas, with the goal of housing it in the Health Professions Building and bringing greater research funding and prestige to CMU.

Kikano said the goal of CMED is still to train doctors who will then work in underserved communities. But now those communities include both rural and urban areas, such as Saginaw.

Kikano also said that “Saginaw is not new to us” and that CMED already works with community partners there to house residency programs.

“Our mission is consistent,” he said. “We need to train physicians, primarily from Michigan, to provide services to underserved communities in Michigan and beyond. We need to build research, and we have great programs now around rural health.”

According to the CMED 2023 annual report, the university received 7,989 applications in the 2022-23 academic year and enrolled a cohort of 104 students. Of those applicants, 1,4376 students were from Michigan, and 79 of the future physicians (76 percent) came from out of state.

“We have relationships with all the providers in the region,” Kikano said. “MyMichigan, of course, which has hospitals in Alma, Clare, Midland. … McLaren which has hospitals in Mount Pleasant and Bay City.”

He said the CMED expansion is also part of the Saginaw Medical Diamond Project.

“We have a good product,” he said. “We have over 1,000 (in-state) applicants who want to come to Central Michigan Medical School. We don’t have the space and the facilities for them.”

Where does the funding for CMED come from?

CMU already has a building in Saginaw for senior medical school students and residency programs, Kikano said. The goal is to build a brand new facility that can house the entire program.

CMED also plans to fund student scholarships and faculty research as part of its capital campaign, Kikano said.

All of that will cost $200 million, and Kikano said CMED plans to raise that money within three to four years.

For comparison, that funding goal is just under half of CMU’s total 2024-25 operating budget, which the Board of Trustees approved at $443.2 million.

Kikano said the medical school is working with community partners to help with fundraising. Capital campaign efforts will begin this fall; Kikano declined to comment on alternative plans if the funding goal is not met.

“I am confident that we can raise the funds,” Kikano said. “CMU is not able (to fund it): There are six other colleges to support.

“There are many other programs that are worthy of investment within CMU. … We will raise another $200 million from outside sources.”

Kikano said this relocation and expansion of CMED aims to generate recognition and bring more students to CMU.

According to CMU’s budget, CMED is expected to generate $29,134,855 in revenue this year, with $28,482,418 in expenses.

“We have a great vision,” Kikano said. “We have a great mission. … So far, the College of Medicine has had an excellent track record. We’re on the map.”