Medical College of Wisconsin History Timeline

Wisconsin's first two medical schools are founded.

(A. Hamilton Levings, MD, was a founder of Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons and served as its president for 20 years.)

Three women are among the first graduating class of the Marquette University School of Medicine.

Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons merges with Milwaukee Medical College to become Marquette University School of Medicine.

(Louis F. Jermain, MD, first dean of the Marquette University School of Medicine.)

The Marquette University School of Medicine Alumni Association is formed.

The medical school moves to the Harriet L. Cramer Building on the Marquette campus.

The Marquette Medical Review (the nation's first medical student-edited medical journal) is established.

The medical school affiliates with Milwaukee VA Hospital.

A Postgraduate Studies Program (now Continuing Medical Education) is created to provide ongoing education to community physicians.

Vision for an academic medical center becomes a reality

The medical school is separated from Marquette; becomes private, freestanding institution

Renamed as the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)

Government and community support for MCW and the academic medical center:

• Heil Commission Report
• Governor's Commission on Medical Education
• Carley Commission Report

MCW relocated to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center (MRMC) campus

The Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals (MCWAH) is created to oversee hospitals' residency training programs.

Froedtert Hospital opens on the MRMC campus

MCW Research Foundation (now Office of Technology Development) is created to spur technology transfer in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is relocated to the MRMC campus.

The Alumni Association's name is changed to the Medical College of Wisconsin – Marquette Medical Alumni Association.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences established

MCW receives transformational Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin conversion funds; Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment is created.

MCW receives NIH award to create the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin.

MCW School of Medicine initiates Discovery Curriculum, creating earlier clinical integration and scholarly pathways.

School of Pharmacy established

MCW receives Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation (one of only four medical schools in US)

New medical school campuses open in Green Bay and Central Wisconsin

First class of Pharmacy students matriculates

MCW celebrates 125 years.

March 26, 2019 - MCW announces that it will house its Center for Flourishing Lives (later renamed ThriveOn King Collaboration) in the Gimbels-Schuster's Building in Milwaukee’s Halyard Park neighborhood. The 1907 building, used as a storage facility since 1970, was the flagship store for Schuster’s Department Store. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation also will be housed in the building through a new community-based partnership with MCW.

March 16, 2020 - In response to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, MCW issues mandatory remote work, visitor/vendor restrictions and a domestic travel moratorium.

March 20, 2020 - MCW joins with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce to begin offering weekly updates for the business community on developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 18, 2020 - MCW, Froedtert Health, Children’s Wisconsin, and Versiti Blood Center collectively pay Milwaukee County $25.2 million so that the organizations buy the land they had previously been leasing on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus.

September 14, 2020 - MCW, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and Royal Capitol Group announce that their community-centered collaboration will be named the ThriveOn Collaboration.

November 9, 2020 - MCW’s Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program is granted New Program accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling.

December 31, 2020 - MCW’s Hope to Health: The Campaign for the Medical College of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital, formally ends generating $300.4 million in overall philanthropic support – an increase of more than 50 percent over the original $200 million goal.

January 18, 2021 - MCW leads the creation of HealthyMKE website as a digital hub for COVID-19 vaccination and public health information.

January 26, 2021 - The ThriveOn Collaboration announces that ThriveOn King will be the name of its physical home at 2153 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

August 1, 2022 - MCW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is renamed the MCW School of Graduate Studies.

September 6, 2022 - A new Mental Health Emergency Center opens at 1525 N. 12th Street in Milwaukee.

September 9, 2022 -  The Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex closes.

September 12, 2022 - Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for MCW’s 150,000 square-foot cancer research building. The estimated cost for the new building is $120 million. The State of Wisconsin has provided $10 million in funding support for the new building.

February 15, 2023 -  MCW, Froedtert Health, and Children’s Wisconsin join with Milwaukee Health Services, Inc. to create a new family medicine residency on Milwaukee’s northwest side. The North Side Milwaukee Health Centers Family Medicine Residency is Wisconsin’s first teaching health center. Teaching health centers receive federal support to provide primary care residency training programs in underserved communities.

November 10, 2023 - Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Forensic Science and Protective Medicine Facility that will serve as a new state-of-the-art home for the state of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Crime Lab, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management. MCW initiated and coordinated planning for the project being constructed on MCW property.

February 8, 2024 - The Wisconsin Institute of NeuroScience (WINS) is formed through a partnership of MCW, Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Health, and the Zablocki VA Medical Center. The Institute advances care and research on disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system. Shekar Kurpad, MD, PhD, is the founding director of WINS.

June 6, 2024 - Ribbon-cutting ceremonies are held for the opening of ThriveOn King, the Medical College of Wisconsin’s place-based commitment to serve Milwaukee’s Bronzeville community. The ceremonies mark the start of facility occupancy by MCW and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. 

July 20, 2024 - MCW’s Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment makes a five-year, $50 million dollar commitment to support hypertension research, and programs supporting child behavioral health and healthcare worker well-being.

August 29, 2024 - MCW’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin opens its Center for Collaboration of Science and Faith to serve as a national and international resource for addressing urgent public health needs.

August 5, 2025 - Grand opening ceremonies are held for MCW’s $157 million Center for Cancer Discovery. It is the only research facility in eastern Wisconsin solely dedicated to cancer research.

December 12, 2025 - MCW announces plans to build its first on-campus student housing. The housing complex, to be known as The Commons at MCW, will be a four-story development with 260 units.

April 14, 2026 - Shekar N. Kurpad, MD, PhD, FEL ’01, is named MCW’s seventh president and CEO, effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Kurpad is professor and former chair of neurosurgery,  senior associate dean for neuroscience in the MCW School of Medicine and founding director of the Wisconsin Institute for Neuroscience. Dr. Kurpad is the first MD/PhD to serve as MCW’s president.

June 22, 2026 - Wisconsin business executive Tim Michels and his wife Barbara donate a $27 million naming gift to support cancer research at MCW. In recognition, MCW’s cancer research facility will be named the Michels Center for Cancer Discovery.

June 23, 2026 - Brett Kissela, MD, GME ’96, is named the Julia A. Uihlein Dean of the School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at the Medical College of Wisconsin, effective September 1, 2026. Dr. Kissela comes to MCW from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine where he was executive vice dean and professor of neurology, senior associate dean for clinical research, chief of research services for UC Health, and director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.