Dear Medical College of Georgia Friends,

We have officially welcomed our Class of 2029

It’s truly one of the biggest highlights of the year when each July we welcome a new class of students into the MCG family — future physicians who are beginning the journey they’ve dreamed about and worked toward for most of their lives. Watching them arrive, bright-eyed, full of hope, and ready to take on the challenge reminds me why we’re all here: to train and support the next generation. It’s exciting to imagine how each of these students will leave their mark – not only through groundbreaking discoveries or clinical leadership, but by making a profound impact on the patients and communities they’ll one day serve. Those first few weeks of medical school can feel like trying to drink from a fire hose. And truthfully, the pace never really slows. But my hope is that all our students remember the reason they came – to improve the lives of others – and let that commitment carry them through whatever trials and triumphs their time at MCG brings.

This year’s class is from all over Georgia and is – per MCG’s usual – academically exceptional

This year’s class of 304 students was chosen from a total of 3,367 total applicants. The Class of 2029 has an average GPA of 3.8 and an average MCAT of 512. All but four of them come from Georgia and they represent 49 different counties and 64 different universities. Almost 25 percent of them (71) come from an underserved area. Of particular note, this class also includes 21 students who have already demonstrated a passion for health care in underserved areas and will spend their clinical training living and learning at our regional campuses in either Rome/Dalton or Albany. This class also includes our second cohort of 40 students at MCG Savannah, and our last class of 60 at the Partnership Campus in Athens, as that campus transitions to the UGA School of Medicine.

My thanks, as always, go out to our incredible senior associate dean for admissions Dr. Kelli Braun and her entire team, as well as the Admissions Committee whose tireless dedication – often well beyond their primary responsibilities—ensures we welcome students who will carry forward the proud legacy of MCG.

Each freshman medical student receives a gift from alumni who have come before them

Speaking of MCG’s proud legacy, one of this medical school’s most meaningful – and relatively new – traditions happens each year during first-year orientation: the presentation of a student’s first “official” stethoscope. Emblazoned with the iconic MCG seal, this is a symbolic gift from alumni who came before them – many include personal notes from the donors. Despite a packed week, I was grateful to be able to attend this special moment across all three of our four-year campuses in Augusta, Athens, and Savannah. The stethoscope program – which allows our alumni to make a big impact for a relatively small donation of $250 per – started in 2020, although we didn’t’ have our first ceremony until 2021, due to the pandemic. Over the last five years, more than 1,500 stethoscopes have been donated to our students. This year alone, 130 alumni and MCG faculty contributed individually, making this tradition possible. And thanks to the generosity of Dr. Melvin Haysman, a 1971 MCG graduate and retired allergist/immunologist in Savannah, and his wife Roberta Kamine-Haysman, an endowment they established in 2023 now ensures the program’s sustainability for generations to come.

Celebrations took place at each of our four-year campuses

It was a true joy to recognize and celebrate alongside some our incredible alumni and donors—many of whom are part of our faculty:

In Augusta: Scott Henson, who long-led alumni relations for MCG and was instrumental in beginning our Stethoscope Program; Debora Overholt, Shilpa Brown, ’94; Valera Hudson, ’85; Natasha Savage, ’07; Lloyd Schnuck, ’68; John Stewart, ’06; and Jennifer Tucker, ‘97.  Particularly touching was the presence of Debora Overholt, who was inspired to pay it forward after her son, David, now a fourth-year student at MCG received his stethoscope with a personal note from his alumni donor.

In Athens: I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank Dr. Mark Ellison, ’82, whose poured his energy and heart into connecting our students with the Athens community and inspiring countless fellow alumni to support them and this program. Other alums who support this program from around that area include  Drs. Bill Bowen, ’64; Lee Chisolm, ’01; Matt Farmer, ’11; Bill Herrington, ’79; John Darden, ’71; Cindy Mercer, ’78; Bill Orr, ’76; Mixon Robinson, ’76; Peter Van Dyck, ’80; and Fred Young, ‘86

In Savannah: Mrs. Kamine-Haysman, and their daughter Michelle and grandson Eli; as well as Drs. Dan DeLoach, ’74 and Dr. Bill Darden, a vascular surgeon down that way. Drs. DeLoach and Darden also pinned each and every student and inducted them as members of the Georgia Medical Society, one of the oldest such organizations in the country.

I have to also thank and recognize here my fellow road warriors: Dr. Vanessa Spearman-McCarthy, ’05, who is serving as MCG Alumni Association president and went to every single ceremony. And our Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement staff, whose tireless work behind the scenes makes all of this possible: Wes Zamzow, Rhonda Banks, Allison Toney; Kelly Schulte; Maddy Baker; Marissa Collins; Nancy Hannan and Leigh Hurt. Please know your efforts do not go unnoticed and are deeply appreciated by me, our faculty and our students.

Liaison Committee on Medical Education gives go ahead for expansion of four-year campuses in Augusta, Savannah

Needless to say, it’s been a great couple of weeks for MCG. Here’s more good news. We have received word from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education that we have the green light to expand our class size in Augusta and Savannah. While the LCME is not in the business of “approving” plans to grow, their support means that we have demonstrated that we have the infrastructure we need to do so.

Next fall, we will increase our first-year class size to 254 (up 50 total) in Augusta and 50 in Savannah (up 10). This will help us maintain our current class size of 304 – the fourth largest first-year class in the nation – as our Partnership Campus transitions to the UGA School of Medicine. Did you know that MCG produces the largest number of physicians of any of the four Georgia-based medical schools? The ability to continue to do so is important because our state certainly needs more doctors, not less – we are one of the top 10 largest states but still rank 39th in total physicians per capita and 41st per capita in those who provide direct patient care.

Save the date for our MCG Atlanta Campus ribbon cutting

One of the greatest strengths of the Medical College of Georgia is our expansive statewide educational network – with campuses in every corner of Georgia. It’s what I like to call MCG’s “secret sauce.” In fact, more than half of our current third-year class is completing their education outside of Augusta.

That footprint grew even larger this January when we officially launched our fourth regional clinical campus at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta – the largest of Wellstar’s nine hospitals across the state. While MCG students have rotated through Kennestone since 2015, 2023 marked a major milestone: the first cohort of 17 students began completing all of their core clinical rotations there. Now our newest regional campus, Kennestone has the capacity to train 24 third-year and 24 fourth-year students each year. As our first presence in metro Atlanta, it creates an essential link to the state’s most densely populated region—and plays a key role in expanding our enrollment and in-state residency opportunities.

We’ll officially celebrate this exciting addition with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Wellstar Kennestone on Tuesday, August 26. Stay tuned for highlights from that event soon.

My best to you always,

David C. Hess, MD

Dean, Medical College of Georgia

Upcoming Events

August 11 – MCG Promotion Portfolio Peer Mentoring Group, register here

August 22 – MCG Faculty Senate Meeting, noon, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium

August 23 – MCG’s Got Talent, 7 pm, Maxwell Theatre

August 26 – MCG Atlanta Campus at Wellstar Kennestone Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, 11 am, Wellstar Kennestone

September 5 – MCG Research Day, 2 pm, J. Harold Harrison, MD Education Commons

September 19 – MCG Faculty Senate Meeting, noon, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium

October 17 – MCG Faculty Senate Meeting, noon, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium

November 13 – MCG Investiture Ceremony, 5 pm, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium

November 14 – Body Donor Memorial Service, 1 pm, Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium