Well it’s official – Baylor College of Medicine will remain an independent institution. The Houston Chronicle does a great job summarizing the background and current circumstances associated with making this decision (link to article).
As a student, I’m glad to see some closure on this. I was getting a bit flustered with classmates concerned about merging with Baylor University and how the possibility of newly instated religious parameters would restrict research and evoke a need to transfer elsewhere. Seriously, there are countless people who would kill to attend medical school, let alone Baylor Med (based purely on its location). Oh well… fortunately, that chapter is closed.
Now that these merger talks are over, we’re back on course to resume our 40+ years of being an independent top 20 institution. We’ve made progress and had some drawbacks, but I firmly believe we’re back on the right path. In due time, the ranks will reflect this improvement. 🙂
If Baylor has no money , ( has Billion dollars and liabilities of more than 900 millions, losing 75 million in a year ) how will it attract good faculty? Without good faculty, great hospital for training and learning is it not matter of time Baylor will be just another Medical school not a great one ?
What do foresee for next class ( class of 2015 ) Why would great candidates risk coming to Baylor at uncertain future
I admire your optimism and will love to see what makes you so ?
You have to consider the fact that a lot of faculty members come to Baylor College of Medicine because of the Texas Medical Center. What should matter to upcoming classes is the fact that this financial situation has been relatively transparent to students (ie, the medical education is unaffected).
BCM seems to be on the right track to recovery, but with the unpredictable market and enormous debt, it’ll take some time to resolve our set backs. Now that we’ve officially declared an end to merger talks, committees can refocus their efforts into streamlining every aspect of BCM’s administration.
I can’t predict the future, nor can I advise for/against coming to BCM (since students expect different things from a medical school). What I can say is that Baylor Med continues to impress me by the caliber of its students, the dedication of its faculty, and the opportunities literally around every corner.