Sep 8, 2026 · 34 min · 14 segments
In this episode, host Dagen Davis sits down with Casey Pierce, Director of External Relations, Marketing & Alumni Relations at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine…
Casey PierceGuest
Dagan DavisHost
For 130 years, there was only one medical school in the entire state of Arkansas, and about 15 years ago, some of the leaders at Arkansas State University and the Northeast Arkansas Medical Community, and with the Arkansas, the Jonesboro Chamber, some community leaders here, they became resolved to fix that.
And what they found was, as a public institution, Arkansas State University, the appetite to spend public money to open another public medical school just didn't exist.
But what they discovered was there was kind of a, a, a model out there that existed where an existing medical school would partner with another institution and open another location.
Uh, our setup is pretty unique, but the leadership at Arkansas State and the business community and the medical community in Jonesboro kinda, uh, built their own model and put together a business plan, uh, to say, "We've got a real opportunity in- here in Northeast Arkansas to open a medical school, and we could do it through a private-public partnership, a private medical school with a public institution like Arkansas State University." So the, that leadership group had this vision, mission together.
Um, you know, I know we're gonna talk about the needs a- and what we're doing here, but basically, you know, again, we had one medical school in the entire state.
Our state ranks in the bottom five in number of physicians per capita, so, um, really behind in the physician workforce.
And we also rank in the bottom five in a nu- in a number of health outcomes, so we're not a very healthy people, and we don't have the access to the healthcare that we need in a lot of, especially the rural parts of our state.
So incorporating all that into a mission and vision and business plan, those leadership groups began traveling the country and pitching that idea.
One of the groups they met with was NYIT, New York Institute of Technology, which is, uh, on Long Island.
It's one of the biggest medical schools in the country, and they had a leader there named Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee.
They had been looking into opening another location in rural upstate New York, but the idea of addressing such a significant need, going into a place with such need and opportunity, that really resonated with her.
Uh, she was the first African American woman to be the dean of a United States medical school, an incredibly accomplished woman who just, um...
W- we are so fortunate for her role and involvement, and one fun thing about her is she comes from a pretty successful family.
Um, NYIT and Arkansas State University formed a partnership, and in 2016, two year, uh, 10 years ago this fall, NYIT COM at Arkansas State University was founded through that private-public partnership.
For 130 years, there was only one medical school in the entire state of Arkansas, and about 15 years ago, some of the leaders at Arkansas State University and the Northeast Arkansas Medical Community, and with the Arkansas, the Jonesboro Chamber, some community leaders here, they became resolved to fix that.
And what they found was, as a public institution, Arkansas State University, the appetite to spend public money to open another public medical school just didn't exist.
But what they discovered was there was kind of a, a, a model out there that existed where an existing medical school would partner with another institution and open another location.
Uh, our setup is pretty unique, but the leadership at Arkansas State and the business community and the medical community in Jonesboro kinda, uh, built their own model and put together a business plan, uh, to say, "We've got a real opportunity in- here in Northeast Arkansas to open a medical school, and we could do it through a private-public partnership, a private medical school with a public institution like Arkansas State University." So the, that leadership group had this vision, mission together.
Um, you know, I know we're gonna talk about the needs a- and what we're doing here, but basically, you know, again, we had one medical school in the entire state.
Our state ranks in the bottom five in number of physicians per capita, so, um, really behind in the physician workforce.
And we also rank in the bottom five in a nu- in a number of health outcomes, so we're not a very healthy people, and we don't have the access to the healthcare that we need in a lot of, especially the rural parts of our state.
So incorporating all that into a mission and vision and business plan, those leadership groups began traveling the country and pitching that idea.
One of the groups they met with was NYIT, New York Institute of Technology, which is, uh, on Long Island.
It's one of the biggest medical schools in the country, and they had a leader there named Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee.
They had been looking into opening another location in rural upstate New York, but the idea of addressing such a significant need, going into a place with such need and opportunity, that really resonated with her.
Uh, she was the first African American woman to be the dean of a United States medical school, an incredibly accomplished woman who just, um...
W- we are so fortunate for her role and involvement, and one fun thing about her is she comes from a pretty successful family.
Um, NYIT and Arkansas State University formed a partnership, and in 2016, two year, uh, 10 years ago this fall, NYIT COM at Arkansas State University was founded through that private-public partnership.
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