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The Warren Alpert Medical School (formerly known as Brown Medical School) is the medical school of Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1811, the school was among the first in the nation to offer academic medical education, but was suspended after sixteen years of operation by university President Francis Waylan
d. The medical school was reinstated in 1975, becoming the only MD-granting institution in the state of Rhode Island. Today, Alpert Medical School is a component of Brown’s Division of Biology and Medicine, which also includes the Program in Biology and the Program in Public Health. Together with the Medical School’s seven affiliated teaching hospitals, the Division attracts over $300 million in external research funding per year. History
Brown University first organized a medical program in 1811, following examples set by its New England neighbors, Harvard University and Dartmouth College. When President Wayland called for all Brown faculty to reside on campus, the physicians serving as voluntary clinical faculty refused to jeopardize their practices in order to comply. After sixteen years of operation, President Wayland suspended the fledgling medical program. There were 87 graduates of Brown's first program in medicine. The medical school was restarted in 1972 as the Program in Medicine and the first M.D. degrees of the modern era were awarded to a graduating class of 58 students in 1975. The Program in Medicine was renamed Brown University School of Medicine in 1991 and again to Brown Medical School in 2000. In January 2007, self-made entrepreneur Warren Alpert donated $100 million to Brown Medical School, tying Sidney Frank for the largest single monetary contribution ever made to the University. In recognition of the gift, Brown Medical School was renamed to The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The funds have contributed to the construction of a new medical education facility, medical student scholarships (through the Warren Alpert Scholars Program), support for biomedical research and faculty recruitment, and new endowed professorships.
