CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted Saturday to authorize a formal feasibility study for a proposed medical school at UNC Wilmington, marking the first concrete institutional step toward expanding physician training capacity in one of the state's most medically underserved regions.

The authorization follows UNCW's formal request this week to the UNC Board to begin planning for what would become the second new medical school in the UNC System in recent memory. Southeastern North Carolina — including Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, and Pender counties — has long struggled with physician shortages, forcing residents to travel hours for specialist care and leaving rural emergency departments critically short-staffed.

UNCW Chancellor Aswani Volety, who has championed the initiative, called Saturday's vote a historic inflection point. 'This is not a luxury — it is a public health necessity,' Volety said in a statement released after the vote. 'Southeastern North Carolina deserves the same access to quality healthcare that residents in other parts of the state take for granted.'

The feasibility study, expected to take 12 to 18 months, will examine accreditation pathways through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, projected costs, clinical training partnerships with local hospital systems including Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and strategies for recruiting faculty to the coastal campus.

Health policy analysts noted that the move aligns with a national trend of directing new medical school investment toward regions with documented primary care deserts. The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians nationwide by 2036, with rural and semi-rural southeastern states among the hardest hit. If the feasibility study proceeds favorably, UNCW could enroll its inaugural class as early as 2030.