A total of 440 people gambled that the new school, USF College of Medicine would become an accredited institution by the time they received their M.D. degrees. Of those 440 people, a group of 21 men and three women, all from Florida were selected.

Charter class members were given the opportunity to vote for the accelerated pace, with graduation scheduled for December 1974, they all agreed. In December 1974, the graduating charter class marched down the aisle to receive diplomas from the fully accredited USF College of Medicine.

Pictured: The Charter Class soon after classes began in 1971.

In March of 1972 construction began on the USF College of Medicine Building. The groundbreaking was held in the morning with a few key charter faculty members and the Dean of the college. No press, speeches or publicity were present to witness this moment. Luckily, there are photographs that highlight the memory of this monumental day.

Pictured: Dean Donn L. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., along with charter faculty members.

Medical schools around the country celebrate Match Day as an annual event specifically for graduating medical students. These graduating medical students receive a match to the best program aligned with their medical specialty, based off the students ranking of the programs and the programs ranking of the students.

Watch how USF Health MCOM Celebrates Match Day.

Pictured: USF College of Medicine students on Match Day in 1989

Research Day is an event showcasing the best and the brightest researchers across all USF Health colleges, as well as guest researchers whose work focuses on the science of health. It also allows many of them to spotlight existing collaborations, as well as form new ones.

Learn more about USF Health MCOM Research Day 2024.

Pictured: First Research Day in 1990.

Founders of USF College of Medicine gather to share stories, combine knowledge, and take a trip down memory lane to collaborate towards telling the history of the USF College of Medicine for the 25th Anniversary.

Pictured: Founders of USF College of Medicine

Sparkling with Promise

On December 8, 2011 the then University of South Florida College of Medicine was renamed to the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, in a ceremony to honor Carol and Frank Morsani for their continued support in medical education in Tampa, Florida. The hope for their investment in USF Health MCOM was "a transformative investment for this community,” said Frank Morsani, “For this university, and for mankind."

Through the power of medical education, the USF Health MCOM has now held it's name for twelve years and has reached spectacular achievements with notoriety in 2023 as the fastest rising medical school in primary care and research in the nation over the past decade as recognized by U.S. News & World Report Academic Insights.

Please read the USF Health News story reporting the naming of USF Health MCOM: New Name Symbolizes Future Vision. (December. 2011)

USF Health MCOM Fastest Rising Medical School in two metrics tracked by the U.S. News & World Report rankings: Medical Research and in Primary Care.

Pictured (left to right): Former USF President, Judy Genshaft, seated with Frank and Carol Morsani.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute has moved downtown, bringing approximately 1,800 students, faculty and staff to live, work and study along the downtown waterfront as a key anchor at Water Street Tampa. With the addition of the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy in 2023. By moving within a mile of its primary teaching hospital Tampa General Hospital, USF will attract the brightest students and faculty, and will increase federal research dollars to fight heart disease.

To learn more about the innovative building, read how we are Celebrating a new home: The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute officially opens in downtown Tampa.

Take an Inside look at the future downtown USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine is now the fastest rising medical school in two metrics tracked by the U.S. News & World Report rankings: in medical research and in primary care.

Among many variables and data points that led to this success – and helped the medical school remain in the top 50 in U.S. News’s most recent rankings for both research and primary care – are the caliber of students joining the Morsani College of Medicine’s MD program and the rapid rise of research funding going to the medical school’s research faculty. 

Read more about the ranking of USF Health MCOM Fastest Rising Medical School in two metrics tracked by the U.S. News & World Report rankings: Medical Research and in Primary Care.