Alice Walton School of Medicine Holds Grand Opening

The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville celebrated its grand opening with an Oct. 29 ribbon-cutting on the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Alice Walton founded AWSOM in 2021 to improve health and well-being in the region through a new pipeline of physicians educated in whole health principles. On July 14, the school’s inaugural class of 48 medical students began their first year.

“I founded AWSOM with a vision for a new kind of medical school — one that focuses on the whole person by integrating physical, mental, emotional, and social health to promote well-being,” Walton said. “That vision is now a reality on the Crystal Bridges campus, where students and visitors alike can experience a truly unique environment that blends stunning architecture, art and nature to inspire both learning and wellness.”

“The grand opening we celebrate today represents the culmination of years of dedicated effort by our team and valued community partners,” said founding dean and CEO Dr. Sharmila Makhija. “Through the training of future physicians in a comprehensive, whole-person approach to health, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine is poised to make a significant and enduring contribution to medical education and health care across Arkansas, the Heartland, and beyond.”

More than 300 guests attended the grand opening, including educational partners, clinical partners and the AWSOM board of directors. Following the ceremony, guests embarked on guided tours of AWSOM’s state-of-the-art medical education facility, designed by Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects with landscape and rooftop park design by New York-based design studio OSD: Office of Strategy + Design. Designed to support the well-being of students and employees, the building features four stories and includes educational spaces such as a library, a clinical skills center, a simulation center, recreational and wellness areas, as well as administrative offices.

Public spaces, including the lobby and art gallery on the first floor and the AWSOM Cafe on the second floor, as well as a pond and rooftop garden outdoors, will open beginning Nov. 3. The facility will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cafe’s hours will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.

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