KCU and Harris-Stowe State University Partner to Provide Novel Pathway to Medical School

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU), the largest medical school in Missouri and one of the oldest osteopathic medical schools in the country, signed a partnership agreement today with Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU), the highest ranking institution in Missouri for granting degrees in mathematics and statistics to African Americans. The partnership between these two universities creates a dual undergraduate and graduate degree program as well as guaranteed acceptance into KCU's College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM).

Five HSSU students will be selected each year to participate. Upon completion of their first three years of undergraduate studies at HSSU, these students will attend their fourth and final year at KCU where they will receive a full scholarship from to simultaneously matriculate in the one-year master of sciences in biomedical sciences program. Upon successful completion their year at KCU, these students will be awarded an undergraduate degree from HSSU and a master of science degree from KCU. They will also be guaranteed admission into the KCU-COM medical school, pending fulfillment of all admissions requirements.

Senior administrators of both universities see this collaboration as an aggressive and exciting opportunity for both KCU and HSSU. Through this partnership, KCU and HSSU provides a pathway for under-represented minorities to enter the profession of medicine and create a physician base that is more representative of the ever-changing face of the communities they serve.

"We are excited to enter into a partnership with such a historic institution as Harris-Stowe State University," said Marc B. Hahn, DO, president and chief executive officer of KCU. "This partnership is not simply about enhancing diversity within our student body; it is about addressing intolerance, improving cultural competency in the next generation of physicians and most importantly, tackling the key issue of health disparities within the communities we serve."

"Harris-Stowe State University is committed to continuing academic excellence in all our programs and has been particularly focused on STEM-related curriculum for the past few years," said Dwaun J. Warmack, PhD, president of Harris-Stowe State University. "The newest partnership with Kansas City University is extraordinary because it guarantees our most capable students a direct path to medical school, preparing them for careers as physicians or medical researchers."

Both Dr. Warmack and Dwayne Smith, PhD, provost and vice president of HSSU, attended the formal signing of the partnership on the KCU campus. Also in attendance were HSSU students.

About Kansas City University
The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU), founded in 1916, is a fully accredited, private not-for-profit university with a College of Biosciences and a College of Osteopathic Medicine. The College of Osteopathic Medicine is the oldest medical school in Kansas City, Mo., and the largest in the state. KCU is the second-leading producer of physicians for both the states of Missouri and Kansas, with 73 percent practicing in primary care specialties throughout the Midwest region.

KCU will open a second medical school in Joplin, Mo., in 2017 to help address the growing need for primary care physicians in the region's rural communities.

About Harris-Stowe State University
Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU), located in midtown St. Louis, is a fully accredited four-year institution that offers 31 majors, minors and certificate programs in education, business and arts & sciences. In 2014, HSSU ranked No. 1 in the state of Missouri and No. 47 in the nation in granting degrees in mathematics and statistics to African Americans according to Missouri Department of Higher Education and Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, a news magazine that has ranked institutions conferring the most degrees to minority students for the past 30 years. The university, which has origins dating back to 1857, offers the most affordable bachelor's degree in the state of Missouri.

Contact: Lisa Cambridge, Director of Public Relations
(816) 654-7038, (913) 602-8652 (cell), [email protected]

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SOURCE Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCU)