LMU Expands Health Sciences Education with Opening of Orange Park Campus

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) will host the grand opening of its Orange Park health sciences campus this spring, marking a major milestone in the university's expansion of medical and veterinary education in Florida. The campus is home to the LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) and the LMU-College of Veterinary Medicine at Orange Park (LMU-OPCVM), which will welcome their inaugural cohorts in 2026.

Situated on 12 acres and encompassing approximately 130,000 square feet across two adjacent buildings, the Orange Park campus reflects a substantial investment in Northeast Florida. The facility is designed to support innovative, clinically focused education and to strengthen the regional health care workforce.

"The Orange Park campus represents a significant step forward for Lincoln Memorial University and for the future of health care education in Florida," said LMU President Dr. Jason McConnell. "This expansion reflects who we are as a university. We are committed to preparing compassionate, highly trained physicians and veterinarians, and we are intentional about placing them in communities where they can make the greatest difference. Bringing human and veterinary medicine together on one campus reinforces the importance of a One Health perspective in how we educate and serve. Orange Park allows us to extend that commitment into Florida in a meaningful and lasting way."

The Orange Park location establishes LMU-DCOM as the first four-year medical school in the greater Jacksonville area. The program will deliver the same comprehensive academic and clinical curriculum offered at LMU-DCOM's established campuses in Harrogate and Knoxville, Tennessee, maintaining a strong emphasis on primary care, service and community-based training. The expansion helps address persistent physician shortages in Florida, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

"The launch of LMU-DCOM in Orange Park represents an important step in strengthening the physician pipeline in this region," said Dr. James Toldi, campus dean for LMU-DCOM at Orange Park. "By building strong partnerships with local physicians and health systems, we are creating meaningful clinical training opportunities and preparing graduates who are ready to meet the evolving health care needs of Northeast Florida."