OU, Beaumont Name Dean of New Medical School

Gift Support, Name, Vision Also Announced

ROCHESTER, Mich., July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oakland University's
Board of Trustees today approved the appointment of Robert Folberg, M.D., as
the founding dean of the allopathic medical school Oakland will open with
Beaumont Hospitals in 2010 with a charter class of 50 students. Oakland and
Beaumont also announced the official name of the school -- Oakland University
William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWBSM) -- and that philanthropic support
is approaching $25 million. They describe their vision for the school as "a
partnership to lead innovation in patient-centered medical education and
research."

"This is a watershed moment in Oakland University's history," said Oakland
President Gary D. Russi. "Today, with our nationally recognized partner,
Beaumont Hospitals, we have taken several momentous steps toward creating
exciting opportunities in top-quality medical education for the next
generation of doctors, and, at the same time, bringing to the region a
much-needed economic and job-creation boost, and exciting new opportunities
for a top-quality medical education for the next generation of doctors."

Beaumont Hospitals President and CEO Kenneth J. Matzick said, "This new
medical school will help solve the predicted shortage of physicians in
Michigan and attract renowned educators and researchers to the region."

Dr. Robert Folberg has served as chairman of the department of pathology at
University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago since 2000. He is an esteemed
professor of ophthalmology and pathology, with a national and international
reputation in the field of ophthalmic pathology, hospital administration,
education and research. In addition to his role as dean of the OUWBSM, Dr.
Folberg will also serve as professor of biomedical sciences, pathology and
ophthalmology, with tenure, and as Beaumont Hospitals' chief academic officer.
(View Dr. Folberg's complete CV at www.oakland.edu/medicine.)

"I'm tremendously honored to be chosen as the founding dean of a medical
school that has the force of two outstanding institutions behind it," Folberg
said. "Oakland University and Beaumont Hospitals are recognized leaders in
higher education and medicine, and the combination of these two organizations
will create a medical school that will blaze new and exciting trails in
medical education in Michigan and throughout the country. To be named the
founding dean of the new medical school is humbling indeed."

Oakland University Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Virinder Moudgil said, "The new medical school will promote applied research
'from the bench to the bedside,' assuring that scientific discoveries and new
technologies are able to directly benefit patients in the most rapid timeframe
possible. It's clear that Dr. Folberg shares our vision for the medical school
and will help us reach new heights in medical training, innovation and
instruction."

Instruction and research in the basic sciences will be provided on Oakland
University's campus in Rochester, with clinical instruction and advanced
research provided at Beaumont. The school will train physicians to practice
21st century medicine with an emphasis on lifelong learning, technology,
research, preventive and pre-symptom medicine, treatment and management of
chronic disease, and teamwork. (For more on the vision of the medical school,
visit www.oakland.edu/medicine.)

Beaumont Hospitals will be the exclusive clinical partner, responsible for
providing clinical training to an estimated 125 OUWBSM students by the fourth
year of operation. An OUWBSM advisory committee composed of Beaumont and OU
executives will provide guidance on the direction of the school.

"Beaumont has the largest, non-university affiliated, post-graduate teaching
program in the country," said Ananias Diokno, M.D., Beaumont executive vice
president and chief medical officer. "This medical school affiliation will
bolster our already strong programs for medical education and research."

Building on a solid foundation of the nearly $25 million in gifts announced
today, revenue for the OUWBSM will come from tuition and fees,
commercialization of intellectual property, partner contributions (e.g.,
clinical training, scholarships), extramural research and philanthropy.
Administrators and faculty will be hired to support the new school consistent
with accreditation standards set by the Liaison Committee for Medical
Education (LCME), which will also be reviewing the OUWBSM application
materials and facilitating a site visit. Following receipt of accreditation
from the LCME, students will be actively recruited beginning in 2009 for a
fall 2010 start.

The OUWBSM will create hundreds of new jobs and is expected to generate a
regional economic impact of up to $1 billion annually, once the school is
fully operational. As it grows, the school will help combat the physician
shortage predicted for Michigan and graduates will fill residencies at local
hospitals, contributing to the care of Michigan residents. The school will
also attract top-level medical, business and academic leaders, helping to keep
our "best and brightest" from leaving the state to pursue educational
opportunities elsewhere.

For a medical school timeline, Dr. Folberg's complete curriculum vitae, and
additional information on the medical school, please visit
www.oakland.edu/medicine.

SOURCE William Beaumont Hospital

Ted Montgomery of Oakland University, +1-248-370-4346; or Colette Stimmell of
Beaumont Hospitals, +1-248-551-0740