$250 million commitment from philanthropist Alice Walton opens groundbreaking medical school to redefine healthcare education, and an additional $350 million to support the region’s broader health infrastructure, including new specialty care facilities

In a bold move set to reshape the future of healthcare, Walmart heiress and philanthropist Alice Walton has officially opened the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM) in her hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas.

The school welcomed its inaugural class of 48 students in July, 2025, in a newly unveiled 154,000-square-foot facility designed to blend medical innovation with wellness, art, and community-centered values.

Located on the grounds of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the architecturally acclaimed campus—designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox with landscapes by OSD: Office of Strategy + Design—features healing gardens, curated art installations, a rooftop park, and dedicated wellness spaces, reflecting Walton’s vision of a holistic, human-centered medical education.

AWSOM offers a distinctive curriculum that integrates traditional medical science with the arts, humanities, and whole-health practices.

The school emphasizes not only clinical proficiency but also preventive care, empathy, and health equity, training physicians to care for the whole person, not just the disease. Through partnerships with leading institutions such as Stanford University and the Cleveland Clinic, AWSOM students will gain access to cutting-edge medical knowledge and global best practices.

Walton’s investment in the school is unprecedented. She has committed $250 million to establish and fund AWSOM and an additional $350 million to support the region’s broader health infrastructure, including the development of new specialty care facilities in Northwest Arkansas.

As part of that commitment, tuition will be fully covered for the first five cohorts of students—an initiative aimed at removing financial barriers and incentivizing graduates to serve in rural and underserved communities.

More than a medical school, AWSOM aspires to become a national model, demonstrating how rigorous scientific training can coexist with compassion, creativity, and community care. As Walton put it in a recent statement, “Our goal is to educate physicians who are not only exceptional in the clinic but who also embody empathy, cultural understanding, and a deep commitment to the well-being of every patient.”

With its inaugural class now underway, AWSOM marks a new chapter in American medical education, rooted in the Heartland, yet designed to influence the nation.