Construction began March 30 on the new Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM), set on 14 acres of land in Bentonville, Ark. In the new facility, the school, founded in 2021, will continue to offer a four-year medical degree program that builds on conventional medicine with a compassionate, inclusive and whole health approach.

Pending programmatic accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, AWSOM plans to welcome the first class of 48 students in 2025.

The school has been sited east of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville and connected via trails. Like the museum, the medical school was founded by Alice Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune and a noted philanthropist.

"Northwest Arkansas is unique in its entrepreneurial spirit, focus on quality of life, natural resources and thriving art scene," she said at the groundbreaking. "This campus will bring together nature, art, innovation and well-being to create an inspiring environment for learning."

Sharmila Makhija, founding dean and CEO of the AWSOM, added, "This building will be a place for community, and a bridge to the future of medical education. The school is poised to be a state-of-the-art learning facility, connected to nature and the community. Alongside our health system partners and neighbors, we'll activate students and reshape medical education by addressing mental, physical, social and emotional health."

AWSOM Designed as Extension of Surrounding Forest

The 154,000-sq.-ft. building project is led by the architectural team of Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox. The design features four levels and will include learning halls, a public gallery, library, clinical teaching spaces, administrative offices, a student lounge, theater, recreation and wellness areas, and underground parking, in addition to an entry-level parking area for visitors.

"We're excited about the transformational impact that this site-responsive building and surrounding park will have for the community," said Wesley Walls, the principal at Polk Stanley Wilcox. "And we're eager to witness how its innovative design will impact and equip future generations of health care professionals and the well-being of Arkansans."

Conceived as an extension of the surrounding forest, the trails extend onto the AWSOM campus to support biking, stewardship of regional ecology and community connections. The site's landscape features include healing gardens, outdoor classrooms, urban farming space and a rooftop terrace that connects to a cafe and amphitheater.

Outdoor features including the rooftop park and surrounding site are designed by New York-based design studio OSD.

Other collaborators on the school's construction include Crossland Construction, a Kansas general contractor; McClelland Consulting Engineers, from Little Rock; and Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, with an office in northwest Arkansas.

AWSOM will offer a medical degree-granting program that builds upon an evidence-based curriculum to care for not only patients, but also students, faculty and staff. Taught by leading medical practitioners and scientific minds, the first-of-its-kind medical school will help students rise to the health challenges of the 21st century with a focus on physical, mental, social and emotional health.

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