History

Richmond residents still refer to the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center by its old name, the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). In 1968, VCU was established as a merger of the Medical College of Virginia and the Richmond Professional Institute. Due in part to its rich history, the MCV name has persisted making MCV and VCU almost interchangeable.

The Medical College of Virginia traces its history back to its founding in 1838, under a charter of Hampden-Sydney College. Initially, classes were held in the Old Union Hotel and tuition was $20 per class. By 1844, the college built its permanent classroom building, which was later named the Egyptian Building for its architectural style. This building is still stands as a landmark on campus, having been in continuous use by the medical college since it was built.

The Egyptian Building today (left) is a national historic site centrally located on the MCV campus. On the right, is the earliest known photo of the building from around 1867.

MCV is the only southern medical school still in existence that stayed open throughout the Civil War. They graduated a medical school class during every year of the war and treated numerous casualties in their hospital. A taste of southern history remains just outside the doors of the current VCU Emergency Department. There stands the old capital of the confederacy. What was then Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ white house is now the Museum of the Confederacy, located immediately adjacent to the hospital grounds.

It was not until 1930 that the first professor of psychiatry was appointed at MCV. By 1954, the psychiatry residency program was accredited and has received continuous approval by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for more than 50 years. During that time, the hospital system itself has also grown tremendously, to include nearly 800 inpatient bed capacity. Today, the VCU Medical Center has grown to include schools of Medicine,

Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Professions, in addition to the VCU Health System and the Massey Cancer Center. In recent years, the VCU Critical Care Hospital opened, elevating VCU to the only level one trauma hospital in central Virginia. The VCU Medical Center continues to grow rapidly. Currently a multi-million dollar effort to build a new medical school building is underway, with planned completion in 2014.

Click here for a more detailed VCU/MCV history, including a timeline .