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Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Heritage Hall, Athens, OH 45701
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Our Partnership

Osteopathic Heritage Foundation

Shared Mission, Shared Values

We are proud to embrace the legacy of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation in our new name—the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The college’s name acknowledges our significant, long-term relationship with the foundation that has made possible some of the most important advances in our history.

Although the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation’s history dates to 1961 and its roots as the charitable arm of the Doctors Hospital health care system, it was the 1998 sale of the hospitals’ assets that initiated the Foundation’s philanthropic efforts with which we are familiar today. The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation of Nelsonville are dedicated to supporting local community initiatives as well as to enhancements in osteopathic medicine, medical education and research in Ohio and beyond.

Our relationship with the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation pre-dates the founding of the college, as Doctors Hospital was among the organizations that, in 1972, advocated for an osteopathic medical school to be established in Ohio. The nationally recognized Doctors Hospital has been an essential training site for our medical students and residents since our first class entered in 1976.

We’ve built on the relationship and have developed a shared vision for education, research and service that promotes community health, quality of life, osteopathic medical education and medical research. The foundation approved a significant financial award to support the implementation of this vision. In addition, both foundations have supported many other important college advancements. The most recently approved gift brings the foundations’ support to Ohio University and its Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine to nearly $123 million in just over a decade. Among the foundation’s most significant gifts are the following:

  • $350K was awarded between 2017 and 2018 for primary care endowed scholarships.
  • $105 million awarded in 2011, the largest single gift in the history of public higher education in Ohio. Through the award called “ Vision 2020: Leading the Transformation of Primary Care in Ohio,” the Heritage College is addressing some of the most pressing health care issues across the state and nation, including the impending shortage of primary care physicians and the diabetes epidemic. Funds are also directed to academic and research facility enhancements. The college’s goal is that these changes propel it to the forefront of primary care and medical education and research among all medical schools nationally.
  • $2.3 million gift for a new training facility for the Heritage Clinical Training and Assessment Center and Community Clinic, which opened in 2011. This new space provides state-of-the-art medical technology for training, and a new home for the Heritage College’s free clinic.
  • $10 million gift toward construction of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and Charles R. and Marilyn Y. Stuckey Academic and Research Center (ARC), which opened in 2010.
  • $278,000 awarded from 2005-2010 to develop and support a Diabetes Fellowship program.
  • $528,000 given from 2005-2010 to support advancement of neuromusculoskeletal and neurological research.
  • $1.1 million awarded from 2005-2007 for development of the virtual haptic back for osteopathic training.
  • $1.2 million awarded from 2001-2006 for development and expansion of the Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education (CORE) Research Office, providing support for infrastructure and research programming in collaboration with CORE hospital partners.
  • $234,000 given from 2000-2003 for the Heritage Health Policy Fellowship Program.
  • $1.5 million initial gift in 2000 to create the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation James O. Watson, D.O., Endowed Research Chair.
  • More than $600,000 awarded to support other areas, including scholarship programs, clinical services for the underserved, the Family Health Radio program, rural health information initiatives, and osteopathic graduate medical education.

The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation has created a lasting legacy with its philanthropic support. We now move into our future together, building upon our strengths developed over the past three decades and implementing the bold changes necessary to fulfill our promise as a world-class medical institution.