Bluefield College in Virginia announced this week that the school has "ceased operations" for its dental school and ended a partnership with Tazewell County to develop the project.
The action took place after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Bluefield College Board of Trustees, the college announced in a press release.
Along with the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors and the Tazewell County Industrial Development Authority, Bluefield College announced plans in September 2012 to create a new dental school to address the growing shortage of dentists and improving dental and healthcare in Southwest Virginia and Central Appalachia.
The college cited, however, the lack of support from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission for funding requests, as the key reason for not moving ahead with the project.
"Given the obstacles we have faced in obtaining the financial commitment needed for the project's success, we determined it was best for Bluefield College to cease its activities to create a dental school in order to pursue other strategic initiatives," stated David Bailey, chair of the board of trustees. "We wish Tazewell County well as it explores other options to bring a dental school to this region."
