Central Michigan University is bringing some New York firepower to Saginaw. Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk, a longtime educator and infectious-disease researcher, has been tapped to lead the newly named Covenant HealthCare College of Medicine as the program shifts more of its operations into the city. He will assume the deanship on July 1, a move meant to give Saginaw's growing medical-education hub a nationally recognized figure at the helm while a multimillion-dollar expansion reshapes the riverfront into a training and research corridor.
Central Michigan University announced Nosanchuk's appointment in a news release, noting that Provost Paula Lancaster selected him to guide the college through a period of growth and to tighten partnerships with regional health systems, according to Central Michigan University. The university said he will oversee academic and administrative operations, curriculum development, and efforts to expand research and residency training. CMU emphasized his more than three decades at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his leadership record in medical education.
What Nosanchuk Brings
Nosanchuk arrives at CMU after more than 30 years with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore, where he served as senior associate dean for medical education and held professorships in medicine and in microbiology and immunology. Montefiore Einstein and other profiles highlight his work on national licensing exams, leadership roles with organizations such as the World Health Organization, and an extensive research portfolio in fungal and infectious-disease biology. College leaders also pointed to his experience steering medical education through the COVID-19 pandemic as a key credential for managing the Saginaw transition.
The Medical Diamond And The Build-Out
The hire lines up with CMU's push to consolidate more class years in Saginaw under the "Medical Diamond" riverfront project, a cluster of hospital, education, and bioscience plans aimed at remaking a slice of the downtown corridor. As reported by WCMU, Covenant HealthCare and MyMichigan Health pledged major donations to fuel the expansion, and local planners say the new facility will sit on MyMichigan's campus. Regional planning documents and local coverage show the expanded site is expected to rise adjacent to MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw; Saginaw County planning documents and hospital records point to the South Washington Avenue campus as the anchor.
Why It Matters
University and city officials argue that bringing more of the college's students and faculty into one concentrated footprint should boost hands-on training, research collaboration, and the odds that graduates stay in Michigan to practice. Central Michigan University reported that a majority of the Class of 2026 will remain in Michigan for residency training, a benchmark the Saginaw campus is designed to improve. Local leaders are also betting that the mix of high-profile leadership and new facilities will attract private investment to the riverfront and help anchor additional health-sector projects across the Great Lakes Bay Region.
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