Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine could be expanding its teaching past the walls of Grosvenor Hall by 2014.
Ohio’s Controlling Board unanimously passed a resolution Monday allowing OU to purchase 14.8 acres near Columbus for $11 million. The acreage, located at 7001 and 7003 Post Road in Dublin, could become an OU-HCOM extension — coined as OU-COM.
A $105 million gift by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation to the school will cover the costs of the property purchase if the OU Board of Trustees approves the purchase.
“I think it will provide (students) access to great medical experiences,” said Ann Fidler, chief of staff to OU Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit. “It will be a great opportunity for students to do a variety of new and exciting programs.”
Fidler said the college hopes to enroll about 50 students in 2014.
If the land is purchased, the university will use two pre-existing buildings on the site, said Jack Brose, dean of OU-HCOM.
Brose said the college could collaborate with Ohio State University, which might include students from both schools sharing residence spaces.
Benoit visited Dublin City Council Monday night to provide an update on the college’s expansion plans with the hope of collaborating with the city.
“We would like to work very carefully for the kinds of things that would benefit both the city of Dublin and Ohio University,” Benoit said.
A future resolution, if passed, could mean 100 acres of the land surrounding OU-COM would be shared with the city of Dublin.
The 100 acres would offer more space for collaborative projects with the city, such as building a hotel, Benoit said.
“We are very creative about financing,” she added.
All of the acreage’s projects, which also include leasing a portion of the buildings as administrative offices and constructing day care facilities, would be completed by 2017.
“We’re certainly very excited and look forward to this strong partnership,” said Tim Lecklider, mayor of Dublin. “This is just the beginning. We’re going to be with you every step of the way, to be sure.”
Dublin City Council will have its second reading of the agreement at its April 23 meeting.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
