Welcome to a new semester!

Dear Heritage College community,

Happy New Year! I hope the winter break provided time to relax and recharge for the semester ahead.

In recent weeks, I had the pleasure of witnessing COVID vaccinations at OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital and, more recently, at Heritage Hall, our new medical education facility in Athens. Seeing the hope and relief on the faces of our first responders and health care workers who are receiving and administering vaccines has been so encouraging. I hope that you, too, are experiencing the hope that medical discovery has gifted to us in this new year.

No doubt we will face continued challenges in 2021. Last week’s violent attack on the Capitol underscores the deep divisions that exist in our nation – divisions that we must work to mend. We must double-down on efforts to eliminate structural racism, inequality and the race-based violence that has claimed so many Black and Brown lives. And in the face of record infections and hospitalizations, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to contain COVID-19. These are daunting challenges, but each is coupled with hope for a brighter future.

I deeply appreciate your compliance with Ohio University’s evolving safety protocols. All returning students took a mail-in COVID-19 test before returning to campus, and regularly scheduled asymptomatic tests will be administered to students and employees who have an on-campus presence in the spring semester. These measures, combined with social distancing, hand washing and masks, will help to keep our campus communities safe as we await the protection that mass vaccination will bring.

In the meantime, the Heritage College has much to celebrate and much to accomplish! 2021 marks a new cycle of our strategic plan and the opening of Heritage Hall. In March, we will celebrate our students’ success in the second NRMP Match under single GME accreditation. We also have some exciting new partnerships and research on the horizon. I look forward to discussing these developments and other important college updates at our 2021 State of the College on Feb. 23. An Outlook invitation will be shared later today with event details; please plan to join.

Thank you for being a part of this exceptional community. I am proud of the great work that each and every one of you do every day!I look forward to the ways in which the Heritage College will contribute to healing in 2021 and beyond!

Sincerely,

Ken Johnson, D.O.
Chief Medical Affairs Officer, Ohio University
Executive Dean, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine