| Established | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Alice Walton |
| Accreditation | Preliminary accreditation from Liaison Committee on Medical Education |
| Chairman | Lloyd Minor |
| Dean | Sharmila Makhija |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | 14 acres |
| Website | www |
 | |
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (stylized as AWSOM) is a medical school in Bentonville, Arkansas, that offers four-year medical degrees. It was founded by Alice Walton in 2021 and is the second medical school in Arkansas.
Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) is a four-year medical degree program in Bentonville, Arkansas. [1] The program is for medical doctorates and it is the second medical school in the state of Arkansas. [2] [3] It was founded and funded by Alice Walton. [1]
The school teaches its medical students in the traditional model and also focuses on physical, emotional and mental health with an emphasis on preventative care and healthy lifestyles called a "whole-health" approach. [4]
The medical school was founded in 2021 as Whole Health School of Medicine and Health Sciences. [5] In 2022, it was renamed Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. [5] Sharmila Makhija was announced as the founding dean and chief executive officer in February 2023. [6] A month later, AWSOM broke ground on 14-acres of land for its medical education facility. [7] Yolangel Hernandez Suarez was appointed Executive Vice Dean in August 2024. [2]
Alice L. Walton Foundation, Mercy, and Heartland Whole Health Institute announced on September 24, 2024, a 30-year, $700 million agreement under which Mercy will serve as the primary educational partner for AWSOM. [8] The following month, AWSOM was given preliminary accreditation status from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, allowing the school to begin recruiting students. [8] Following preliminary accreditation, the school began accepting student applications. [9] The first five cohorts of students will have their tuition fees waived. [8]
The school and Stanford Medicine co-hosted the inaugural conference “Think Health" at Crystal Bridges Museum in January 2025. [10] The first week of classes were held in July 2025 with a white coat ceremony for the 48 student large inaugural class. The school received over 2,000 applications and of the students selected, one-third were from Arkansas and 20 percent from bordering states. [11]
Sharmila Makhija is the founding dean and chief executive officer. [6] Yolangel Hernandez Suarez is executive vice dean. [2] There are over 50 faculty members. [12]
Board members include: [13] [14]
Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects was the lead architect for the school's facility and Office of Strategy and Design (OSD) was the lead designer for the school’s landscape and rooftop park. [5] [15] It is a four-story, 154,000-square-foot building. [4] It has an amphitheater, gardens, and a 2-acre rooftop park. [4] This will be open to the public. [4]
The school is connected by trails to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Heartland Whole Health Institute. [16] [5] A 300-unit apartment complex was announced in 2024 for students and other renters. [17]