The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation (OHF) has been a longtime advocate for and supporter of Ohio University and its Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine through advocacy at the local, state, federal and national level of government, associations, etc. and has provided significant financial support and investment into our shared mission and vision. Since 2000, the OHF has awarded $123 million in support of education, research, training and scholarship at Ohio University.
In 2011, the foundation’s $105 million Vision 2020: Leading the Transformation of Primary Care in Ohio award helped us launch our greatest period of growth in the history of the college. We are now the largest medical school in the state and train future primary care physicians and specialists who frequently serve the rural and underserved areas in Ohio.
The college leveraged the Vision 2020 award to reimagine and reengineer our academic enterprise – opening new campuses, doubling our enrollment, accelerating research, evolving our clinical education network, developing a new curriculum, supporting scholarships and serving our communities as we address some of the most pressing health care issues across the state and the nation, including the impending shortage of primary care physicians and the diabetes epidemic. With the OHF’s support, we turned some of our most ambitious and visionary goals into reality.
The Heritage College, the new Athens campus medical education facility Heritage Hall, and the new Heritage Translational Research Center slated to open in 2026, were named to honor the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation for its remarkable investment and continued commitment to our mission and vision and to acknowledge our long-term relationship with them, which pre-dates the founding of the college.
The foundation’s history dates to 1961 and its roots as the charitable arm of the Doctors Hospital health care system. In 1972, Doctors Hospital was one of the organizations that advocated for an osteopathic medical school to be established in Ohio. From the time the college’s first class entered in 1976, the nationally recognized Doctors Hospital became an essential training site for our medical students and residents.
It was the 1998 sale of the assets of Doctors Hospital that initiated the foundation’s philanthropic efforts with which we are familiar today. The foundation is dedicated to supporting local community initiatives as well as enhancements in osteopathic medicine, medical education and research in Ohio and beyond.
In our long history together, we have developed a shared vision for education, research and service that promotes community health, quality of life, osteopathic medical education and medical research. The OHF has created a lasting legacy with its philanthropic support, and we will continue to move into the future together, building upon strengths and implementing bold changes necessary to fulfill our promise as a world-class medical institution.
To implement our shared vision and other important advancements, the OHF’s most significant financial gifts to the college include:
- $105 million awarded in 2011, the largest single gift in the history of public higher education in Ohio. The award helped propel the college to the forefront of primary care, medical education and research among medical schools nationally.
- $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.
- $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.
- $350K was awarded between 2017 and 2018 for primary care endowed scholarships.
- $1.5 million initial gift in 2000 to create the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation James O. Watson, D.O., Endowed Research Chair.
- $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.
- $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.
- $278,000 awarded from 2005-2010 to develop and support a Diabetes Fellowship program.
- $234,000 given from 2000-2003 for the Heritage Health Policy Fellowship Program.
- 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.
Our goal is to become nothing less than the leader in primary care education.
OHF Annual Reports
