Ģ����ý

When the Alberta government granted autonomy for the University of Alberta at Ģ����ý in 1966 to create the new University of Ģ����ý, medicine was one of the first areas identified as an area of interest. 

Plans for a medical school were approved that same year while a three-year residency for certification in general practice was piloted at the Ģ����ý General Hospital — one of just two programs of its kind in North America at the time. 

Dr. William Cochrane, MD, was appointed dean of what was then known as the Faculty of Medicine in January 1967 and immediately started working with the Ģ����ý medical community to train students. 

“The core of the school will be built around the Foothills Hospital,” he told the Ģ����ý Herald. “The other two hospitals (Holy Cross and General Hospital) have been receptive to taking part in the medical faculty’s program.” 

Cochrane believed human biology should be stressed to students as soon as they stepped foot on campus through experiential learning — something that remains a core UĢ����ý value to this day. 

“It will be human situations … closed-circuit television and audio-visual aids make it possible for students to learn basic lessons in physiology and biochemistry under clinical situations,” he continued.  

“Students, from the beginning, will learn by observing human techniques. They will be in contact with patients from the start of their studies and not just in the last two years.” 

The faculty’s first 32 students graduated in 1973, while the new Health Sciences Centre was built in 1975. 

A transformative gift 

Believing that they could “settle only for the best,” Cochrane’s vision fuelled the Faculty of Medicine for decades to come. 

He believed the faculty had to go beyond what was expected of them and not be afraid of trying new things.

Breakthroughs in neural stem cells, transplanting live cartilage and treating immune-system diseases raised the profile of the school while showcasing the breadth of its expertise. 

Over the years, the focus has remained on making the world healthier while embracing new techniques and approaches, which was appreciated by many in the community. 

In 2014, philanthropist and alum Geoffrey Cumming provided the faculty with the largest single gift in UĢ����ý’s history: a $100-million donation matched by the Province of Alberta. The faculty was then renamed the (CSM). 

“When you go into the labs and spend time with medical researchers, you find incredibly talented individuals,” Cumming, BA’74, Hon. LLD’16, said at the time. “Bright and driven, they are capable of making important advances into diseases and disorders where we currently have only limited understanding.” 

He said the gift was about attracting more of the world’s best researchers to Alberta, and to inspire and challenge them to make significant advances in medicine. 

The funding, which included $16 million for the , was meant to build on two strengths of the faculty: brain and mental health; and infections, inflammation and chronic diseases. It positioned the CSM strongly to become a powerhouse of precision medicine research, including projects such as the . 

Taking an entrepreneurial approach to delivering better results for patients is what the Cumming School of Medicine has built its legacy on since Cochrane outlined his vision nearly 60 years ago. 

All members of the UĢ����ý community are invited to for the May 28 introduction to the Living Medicines Initiative.