Methodist University is receiving an $8 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to pay for equipment and other costs as it creates Fayetteville’s first medical school in partnership with Cape Fear Valley Health.
The Golden LEAF board announced the grant Thursday at its regular meeting. The school is expected to create 260 jobs and eventually graduate 120 doctors per year. Many are expected to enter residencies in southeastern North Carolina counties that are considered the most needy economically under the state’s rating system.
“Research has shown that resident doctors trained in rural areas are more likely to practice in rural areas,” Golden LEAF Board Chair Ralph Strayhorn said in a release. “The funding to Methodist University will not only help build hundreds of jobs throughout southeastern North Carolina, but also increase the number of physicians serving the region. This project will substantially move the needle for rural healthcare in North Carolina.”
Formed in 1999 with proceeds from the national settlement with tobacco companies, Golden LEAF has funded 2,292 projects totaling $1.3 billion, mostly in rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed communities. The fund had assets of $1.4 billion as of June 30 and net investment income of about $155 million in the past fiscal year.
Methodist announced the medical school plan in 2023. Cape Fear Valley is among the state’s 10 largest health systems, with eight hospitals and operations in seven counties, including Cumberland. It will join existing medical schools affiliated with Duke University, Wake Forest University, Campbell University, East Carolina University and UNC Chapel Hill.
Methodist enrolls about 2,300 students, including about 300 graduate students. It calls itself the most diverse N.C. campus with students from more than 50 nations. Methodist expects its first class of medical school students in the summer of 2026.
Methodist opened its physician assistant program in 1996 and has since added degree programs in nursing, physical and occupational therapy and paramedic medicine. It is seeking approval from the Liaison Commission on Medical Education and won’t take applications until that is achieved, according to university officials.
