DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Books from the Hawaii Medical Library were being moved yesterday to the health sciences library in the medical education building at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. Librarians Luree Ohigashi (kneeling) and Lee Adams (standing on the end of the row) were organizing the first books onto the shelves as the movers were delivering the books.

New UH medical school
lacks about $6.1 million

Classes are set to start April 4,
but the school still needs
operational funding

Furniture and books are nearly in place in the education building of the new University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine at Kakaako, and students won't be far behind.

The first classes are expected to start April 4.

However, operation of the school in the fiscal year starting July 1 hinges on finding about $6.1 million, says Dr. T. Samuel Shomaker, associate dean for academic affairs and education and acting school dean.

He said the 216,000-square-foot research building will be substantially completed in early June, with opening anticipated Aug. 17.

It will provide space for 40 principal investigators and research groups, including some from the Cancer Research Center, he said. About 400 faculty members, staff and technicians will be working in the research building, Shomaker said.

"The facilities are just spectacular," he said. "You've almost got to pinch yourself to convince yourself it's real.

"The only issue now is operating dollars, and that is a big issue," he added. "It's hard to separate the opening of the campus from the money issue because you can't really open the campus without securing operating dollars for it."

UH regents learned last month that there is no operating money for the new medical school in the next year. UH President David McClain said several options are under consideration, including a tuition increase to cover operating costs.

Shomaker said operating funds are available for the rest of this fiscal year. "As of July 1 it is more problematic."

He said operating costs for 2005-06 are estimated at $11.7 million, including a component for the education building, the research building, some infrastructure to support faculty and some new faculty hires "because if we don't have faculty to do research, we can't generate income."

He said about $5.6 million has been identified from university sources to apply toward the $11.7 million, and the school is trying to find the other $6.1 million.

Shomaker said he is spending a lot of time walking the halls at the Legislature and "looking around to see who might be interested in supporting the school."

The 112,000-square-foot education building cannot pay for itself because it has no revenue-generating potential, Shomaker pointed out. "A lot of economic potential will materialize" from the research building, but a start-up period is required, he said.

The new medical school, financed with $150 million from the state's tobacco settlement, has been envisioned as the engine for lucrative bioscience developments at neighboring Kakaako sites.

The school's grants and contracts -- about $11 million in 1999 -- are expected to total $53 million in 2005-2006, Shomaker said.

New faculty members with large grants have been added to the school under an agreement for new hires when Dr. Edwin Cadman was recruited as dean five years ago.

They include Drs. Richard Yanagihara, tropical medicine and infectious diseases, with $24.1 million in grants and contracts; Kenneth Ward, obstetrics and gynecology, $13.4 million; Joachim Spiess, neuroscience research, $10.2 million; Marjorie Mau, native Hawaiian health, $13.7 million; Linda Chang, neuroimaging, $4.3 million; and Marla Berry, cellular and molecular biology, $3.2 million.

Shomaker said the school has had great success in hiring top-notch people, and it has a list of faculty it would like to recruit but it does not have the money.

"We really feel it's important because we need to make the best possible use of the Kakaako facilities, and bringing new people to do that will maximize the state's investment," Shomaker said.

Occupation of the education building began yesterday with surplus books purchased from the Hawaii Medical Library delivered to the new medical school library.