The University of Texas Medical Branch: a century of service

Abstract

The current centennial celebration of The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston spotlights not only a history of medicine, but a history of Texas as well. As fellow travelers across the rugged terrain of the past century, UTMB and Texas have shared times of prosperity and times of hardship; both have been gifted with growth and suffered sorrow and loss. Since its first day of class, on October 5, 1981, UTMB has grown from 23 students, one school, and one hospital to 2,360 students, four schools, seven hospitals, and two institutes. Since its first commencement class of three in 1892, UTMB has graduated more than 17,000 health science professionals during the past 100 years, and it is estimated that one in four doctors practicing in the state has trained at UTMB. Today, as UTMB stands on the threshold of its second hundred years, the health science center's first century of service is a history worthy of celebration.