(KAIR)--In what a release calls "a significant step toward completing a proposed new medical school," Atchison-based Benedictine College is looking to hire a dean.

The search to fill the role of leadership, the release from the college says, "is the latest in a series of exciting milestones reached by the proposed Benedictine College School of Osteopathic Medicine" to be located on the college campus.

The Benedictine College Board of Directors, in June, voted to continue efforts to explore the proposed medical school, with the college dedicating an initial $4 million investment to help make it a reality.

The move to find a dean comes on the heels of the college opening a new 100,000-square-foot building designed to be the finest small college STEM facility in America. Already in place is a successful pre-med program, while the college's School of Nursing is ranked as the best in Kansas.

The interest in supporting a medical school comes from the college- strategic plan, “Transform Culture in America,” which states: “STEM education is a particular emphasis of Benedictine College” and calls for the school “to advance the mission through science and health care.”

Michael Kuckelman, Chairman of the Board of Benedictine College, in the release, calls the proposed medical school "a true game changer,” not only for the college, but "for the city of Atchison, and for rural health care availability in our region.”

The college has partnered with organizations with national success records in accreditation and fundraising to ensure the project succeeds.