Heritage College Timeline
1800s
Notable Events
1803 ĢƵ becomes 17th state
1804 ĢƵ General Assembly establishes “The ĢƵ University”
1808 ĢƵ University opens
ĢƵ University trustees form a committee to explore establishing a medical school in Athens, setting aside land for it.
1970 to 1979
Notable Events
1974 Nixon resigns as president
1975 Microsoft is founded
1977 Star Wars premieres
ĢƵ Osteopathic Association House of Delegates passed a resolution to establish a committee to explore the need for an osteopathic college in ĢƵ.
State legislation passes House Bill 229 on July 28, 1975.
Aug. 18, 1975, ĢƵ Gov. James A. Rhodes signed H.B. 229, during a ceremony at the ĢƵ Statehouse.
H.B. 229 became a law on Nov. 17, 1975.
Sept. 11, 1976, Grosvenor Hall is dedicated as the first medical school building.
OU‑COM officially opens in September 1976 under Dean Gerald Faverman, Ph.D., welcoming its inaugural class of 24 students in Grosvenor Hall.
Frank W. Myers, D.O., named Dean on Nov. 1, 1977.
1980 to 1989
Notable Events
1981 MTV launches
1985 Live Aid global concert
1989 Berlin Wall falls
First D.O. degrees awarded; OU‑COM graduates 21 physicians under Dean Frank Myers, D.O.
Entering class reaches 100 students for the first time.
A renovated Irvine Hall is dedicated as the second medical school building.
Parks Hall is dedicated as the third medical school building, home of the Osteopathic Medical Center.
OU-COM celebrates 10th anniversary.
1990 to 1999
Notable Events
1992 U.S. “Dream Team” dominates Olympics
1997 Titanic breaks box-office records
1998 Google founded
Barbara Ross‑Lee, D.O., becomes dean, making history as the first Black woman to head a U.S. medical school.
2000 to 2009
Notable Events
2001 iPod launches
2004 Facebook launches
2008 Barack Obama elected president
Daniel Jon Marazon, D.O., steps in as interim dean of OU-COM for 11 months.
John “Jack” Adolph Brose, D.O., becomes dean of OU-COM.
Brose began discussions in November 2009 with the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations to obtain a grant.
2010 to 2019
Notable Events
2010 Affordable Care Act signed
2015 Hamilton reshapes Broadway
2019 First image of a black hole
Academic & Research Center (ARC) opens in Athens, co‑dedicated by OU‑COM and the College of Engineering.
Receives a landmark $105 million gift from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations; the college is renamed Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Kenneth H. Johnson, D.O., appointed executive dean.
Acquisition of Dublin property approved.
First Dublin campus class begins with 50 students.
Cleveland campus opens in partnership with Cleveland Clinic (51 students); college admitted to AMA’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education consortium.
2020 to present
Notable Events
2020 COVID-19 pandemic begins
2022 ChatGPT released
2023 “Barbenheimer” double-feature moment
Heritage Hall, a new 120,000 ft² academic facility in Athens, opens by early 2021; design emphasizes osteopathic principles and achieves LEED Silver certification.
Named ĢƵ’s top producer of primary care physicians and ranked No. 49 in the U.S. for primary care by U.S. News.
Dublin campus marks its 10‑year anniversary.
ĢƵ University and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation announce a $70 million commitment to the Heritage College: $45 million for research and up to $25 million for scholarships. The Foundation’s total support now exceeds $193 million.
The Cleveland campus marks its 10-year anniversary.
The Heritage College celebrates its 50th anniversary.