Heritage College receives more than $300,000 in endowed scholarship funding
The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine created six new endowed scholarships totaling more than $300,000 in the past year, thanks to the generosity of numerous alumni and friends.
In 2020, overall endowment contributions to the college reached nearly $18 million. These funds provide permanent support for teaching, research, student aid and academic programs and activities.
“The endowments we receive help make our program accessible to all students who have a passion and the skills to become an osteopathic physician,” said Lowell Lustig, J.D., senior director of philanthropy.
Gifts of all kinds contribute to the high quality of education at the Heritage College; however, endowment scholarships offer a dependable source of funding because they are set up to provide continuous support for students as they pursue their medical education and training. The Heritage College’s scholarship match program was established in 2017 as another tool to help defray rising student debt. Based on the amount for each scholarship gift over $50,000, the college provides additional funding to enhance the donor’s gift. Originally funded with $1 million, the program has grown to $2.8 million.
“Our donors share our passion for recruiting and retaining the best and brightest students who will go on to provide much-needed medical care in Ohio and beyond,” said Heritage College Executive Dean Ken Johnson, D.O. “The generosity of our alumni and friends contributes immensely to the success of our graduates by minimizing the financial burden of medical school, and we are incredibly grateful for their support and partnership.”
Read about the recent endowments below.
Dr. John A. Dumot and Dr. Kimberly J. Hollandsworth Scholarship Fund ($50,000) – John A. Dumot, D.O. (’90), established the scholarship. He is a gastroenterologist and serves as a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve Medical School and director of the Digestive Disease Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been appointed as the co-chair of the college’s Dean’s Leadership Council. Dr. Dumot’s gift was matched one-to-one, creating a $100,000 scholarship.
Dr. Rene and Suzanne Garza Endowed Scholarship ($50,000) – Rene Garza, D.O. (’00), and his wife, Suzanne, established the scholarship to provide support for students who matriculate into the Heritage College from the Summer Scholars program. Dr. Garza is a former Summer Scholars participant and serves as an emergency room physician in Texas. The Garza's gift was matched one-to-one creating a $100,000 scholarship.
Judi and Gregory Hill, D.O., Scholarship Endowment ($25,000) – Gregory Hill, D.O. (’86), is a member of the board of trustees for the Ohio University Foundation and serves as a member of the Heritage College’s Dean’s Leadership Council. Dr. Hill serves as the chairman of Western Reserve Hospital’s Department of Surgery. He served as a lieutenant colonel, now retired, in the U.S. Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq as a battalion surgeon in 2005.
Dr. Deanna and Robert Joe Holdren Scholarship ($100,000) – Deanna Holdren, D.O. (’96), and her husband, Robert Joe, have created this endowment to benefit students from southeast Ohio. The Holdrens are both Ohio University graduates and continue to support the academic mission of the institution, while supporting their daughter through her program at the Heritage College. Dr. Holdren is a family practitioner with her own practice in eastern Ohio. The Holdren’s gift was matched two-to-one, for a total of $300,000.
Jack D. Hutchison, D.O., Scholarship Fund ($25,000) – Jeffery D. Hutchison, D.O. (’86), made this gift in honor of his father, Jack Hutchison, D.O., who had a distinguished career as an orthopedic surgeon at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, for more than 45 years. Jeffery Hutchison is an ophthalmologist in Columbus and is a member of the college’s Dean’s Leadership Council. He serves as a member of the board of directors of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation.
Professor William S. Romoser Memorial Endowment for Tropical Disease Research and Training ($57,000) – William Romoser, Ph.D., was one of the co-founders of the Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute at the Heritage College. His friends and family came together to create this endowment to support undergraduate, graduate and medical students who receive training through the ITDI at their facility in Ecuador. The gifts came from Margaret Ann Meeker Romoser, Dr. Romoser’s widow, and family members Suzanna Gussler, Anne Romoser Bell and Gordon Bell, Regan Romoser Welch and Michael Welch, Kelley Romoser Vogel and Christopher Vogel, James G. Laws, D.O., and ITDI Director Mario Grijalva, Ph.D.