History

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. 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.

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 on the MCV campus, with the Richmond History Center and the Museum of the Confederacy

Click here to learn more about Richmond’s History.

1930: The first professor of psychiatry was appointed at MCV

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.

Today: 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.

Today:   The  VCU Critical Care Hospital opened, elevating VCU to the only level one trauma hospital in central Virginia.

Coming Soon: New state of the art operating rooms, pediatric in patient and out patient facilities, including a new Virginia Treatment Center for Children, a bold new psychiatric wing at the Hunter Holmes Veteran’s Administration Hospital and a new medical school building is underway on the MCV campus, with planned completion in 2014.

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

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