WILLIAMSBURG Pre-med students at the College of William & Mary might be able to stay with their alma matter for medical school.

The college will consider merging with Eastern Virginia Medical School to create the W&M School of Medicine, the schools announced in a joint statement Wednesday.

Any action would require approval of the university's board of visitors, the governor and the General Assembly, President Taylor Reveley said in a letter to the campus community.

A group led by the provost will explore the possible merger with the Norfolk-based medical school, which Reveley said is "worth careful consideration."

"EVMS is an institution we know and respect," he said. "Many W&M graduates have gone to medical school there. And there has been productive research collaboration between the two schools."

W&M currently offers an early-assurance program that allows pre-med students to apply to EVMS the spring of their sophomore year.

The provost-led group tasked with exploring the merger will include faculty and administrators, said W&M spokesman Brian Whitson.

Wednesday's statement noted that the talks are exclusive, which Whitson said is standard practice in such situations.

That drew disappointment from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where President John Broderick sent a letter to campus saying the discussion should be broadened to include ODU and others.

ODU was already eyeing a union with EVMS, he said, noting that a study about the two schools possibly merging was proposed but tabled at this year's General Assembly session.

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W&M, Eastern Virginia Medical School may join forces