University President Michael Rao is doing the right thing by studying a recent proposal by the Board of Trustees to bring a medical school to Central Michigan University.

However, this potentially great – or devastating – idea is in its utmost infancy.

And future medical students – and university budget shortfall pundits – need to realize that before any brash assumptions are made.

According to Wednesday’s Central Michigan Life story, Rao is moving forward immediately on the board’s request and plans to have a report prepared by July 12, when the board next meets.

The pros and cons of adding a medical school to CMU are staggering.

The biggest consequence when large projects are mentioned is cost. Adding a medical school to Central’s curriculum most likely would involve purchasing a lot of medical equipment, hiring numerous faculty members and possibly constructing another building to house everything, among other expenses.

However, CMU may be in the fortunate situation where it doesn’t have to worry about building construction, as the state-of-the art Health Professions Building only is four years old. The building already houses plenty of medical classrooms and some of the most modern medical-related equipment.

Costs still will be extensive if things move forward, but avoiding another building construction on this campus is a win-win situation for everyone.

Secondly, mid-Michigan and the state are anticipated to see a shortfall in doctors (600 and 7,100, respectively) by 2015. With all those jobs expected to be available over the next 8-to-10 years, it’s possible a lot of out-of-state graduates could steal them.

But with a medical school in Mount Pleasant, which would be the first in mid-Michigan, it could help fill some of those in-state jobs. CMU always stresses the importance of keeping graduates in Michigan. This could help.

Adding a medical school at CMU also would further its strive to do two things – become a better research institution, and further its distance from Eastern and Western.

According to Wednesday’s story, Michigan universities without a medical program are eligible for $70 million to $80 million on average in federal research money. However, throw a medical school in the equation, and an average of up to $220 million of research money is available.

Of course, with Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s recent plight to treat University of Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State on a different plane than the state’s other 12 public universities, the money never can be guaranteed.

There’s plenty of risk and reward in bringing a medical school to this campus, and it’s good to see Rao is considering it and plans to have a report ready by July.

But until then, all we have are opinions.

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