Biography

The UMKC School of Medicine opened in 1971 as the result of more than a decade of community efforts to establish a medical school in Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor college, the University Medical College of Kansas City, ran between 1881 and 1913.

Dr. E. Grey Dimond joined the university as provost for health sciences prior to the school's opening in 1970. He designed a medical school curricula based on his accelerated medical training during World War II: a six-year Bachelor of Arts and Medical Degree program with early and continuous clinical experiences, humanities woven throughout, small group learning communities centered around a physician "docent," continuous student assessment, and basic sciences application in clinical medicine. The school strongly emphasized community partnerships, volunteer work, and service learning from its beginning onward.

The School of Medicine moved into its own dedicated building in 1974. It is located on the Hospital Hill campus near public hospitals such as University Health Truman Medical Center and Children's Mercy Hospital.

Beginning in 2008, the school accepted its first students into graduate degree programs, beginning with anesthesiology. The school has since added master's degree and graduate certificate programs in bioinformatics, medical sciences physician assistant, health professions education, and clinical research. During the 2010s and into the 2020s, the school has broadened its scope to include scholarly research.

In 2021, the school opened a new campus at Mosaic Life-Care in St. Joseph, Missouri.

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