History of the Brody School of Medicine
1965 – North Carolina General Assembly authorizes East Carolina College to establish a School of Medicine.
1967 – East Carolina University awarded university status by the state legislature.
1969 – General Assembly appropriates addition planning and development funds for the medical school. Core faculty and administrative personnel were also recruited to complete the first stage of development of the school.
1971 – Upon the recommendation of Governor Robert W. Scott and the State Board of Higher Education, the General Assembly appropriates operating funds to allow the enrollment of the first students into a one-year program.
Fall of 1972 – The first 20 students are enrolled in the East Carolina University School of Medicine. These students, all North Carolinians, successfully completed the one-year program at ECU and transferred to the sophomore class of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
1975 – Upon recommendation of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system, the General Assembly appropriates $43 million for initial construction of facilities and implementation of a new four-year medical school at East Carolina University.
April 1977 – The East Carolina University School of Medicine receives provisional accreditation and authorization to admit its charter class of 28 students in the fall of that year.
Aug. 1977 – In August 1977, the East Carolina University School of Medicine opens its doors to the first class of 28 four-year students.
1977 – Residency program accredited for family medicine.
1978 – Residency programs accredited for psychiatric medicine, medicine, pediatrics, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology.
March 30, 1979 – Groundbreaking ceremony held for the new Medical Sciences Building.
1979 – Programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology, pharmacology, and physiology are initiated.
Feb. 1981 – The School of Medicine receives full accreditation.
May 1981 – The charter class graduates, including Natalear Collins and Brenda Klutz, the School of Medicine’s first African-American graduates.
1982 – Emergency medicine residency program accredited.
Oct. 29, 1982 – Ribbon cutting ceremony held for the newly constructed Brody Medical Sciences Building.
1983 – The first Doctor of Philosophy degree conferred by East Carolina University awarded through the medical school.
1985 – Residency programs accredited for anatomic and clinical pathology.
1987 – Doctoral program in pathology added.
1999 – Renamed the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, in recognition of the continuous support of the Brody family, former owners of the Brody’s retail chain.
May 3, 2000 – Dr. Randolph Chitwood, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Brody, performs the first robotic heart valve surgery in North America
2016 – Brody is one of seven schools globally to receive a 2016 Aspire to Excellence Award, from the Association for Medical Education in Europe. Brody was honored in the social accountability category for emphasizing training in primary care.
2017 – The Brody School of Medicine Student National Medical Association chapter received regional recognition for extensive community service. The group supports minority medical students and underserved communities
2022 – ECU Health is created following integration between ECU and the former Vidant Health. As ECU Health, the two organizations more effectively and efficiently address current issues facing the region – such as health disparities and care delivery obstacles – while also better anticipating future health care and educational needs.