Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute in Roanoke was Wednesday.

Attendees for the ceremony included state senator John Edwards, D-Roanoke, (from left), Cynda Johnson, the school's dean, and Carilion vice president Nathaniel Bishop.

Gov. Tim Kaine said Wednesday that health care and education should anchor Southwest Virginia's economic development and that Roanoke's new medical school will lead the way.

"It is a worthy project to anchor and give great acceleration to the economic developing of the community," Kaine said during a groundbreaking ceremony for the $59 million building that will house the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.

Construction crews began initial site work last month on the 154,000-square-foot structure that is being built through a private-public partnership and paid for with taxpayer money.

Kaine's message was echoed by several others as nearly 300 people gathered to hail the partnership between Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech. The new complex off Jefferson Street in Southwest Roanoke will give the entire region a framework for economic development, speakers said.

"We think it will have a significant impact on the economy of the region and help the quality of life and health care of the region," said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech. He said the school and research institute should attract high-tech businesses and create new employment opportunities for those in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

For every dollar spent by a medical school or teaching hospital, an additional $1.30 in economic activity occurs, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Based on research expenditures of $366.9 million in 2007, Virginia Tech ranked 42nd out of 662 universities, according to data released in August by the National Science Foundation.

Steger said the research institute alone should add another $40 million to that figure. The university has set a goal of $540 million in research expenditures by 2012.

The school, which also unveiled its logo Wednesday, calling itself VTC for short, is a private entity but the building will belong to Virginia Tech and the Medical Research Institute also will be part of Virginia Tech. The land is owned by Carilion.

Carilion Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ed Murphy said the partnership also will lead to better health care for the region. He called the partnership a critical step in developing a new system for meeting the health care needs of the community.

Murphy said the lure of a medical school has played a role in recruiting new physicians and specialists to Carilion as the hospital system converts to a new clinic business model.

There is also a basic need for physicians, including a statewide shortage.

Even as the medical and health care communities, politicians and business leaders paused to celebrate getting the project off the ground, those working behind the scenes said there is a lot of work to do.

The biggest hurdle facing the future of the school is getting the proper accreditation, said Cynda Johnson, its dean.

With a dozen new standards introduced last week by the accreditation board, Johnson said the timeline has been somewhat altered but that the school remains on schedule to be able to open for students by the fall of 2010.

A site visit by board representatives had been tentatively scheduled for November but will more likely take place in February.

"They've raised the bar," Johnson said. "But all we have to do is get to work and have everything ready to go."