PROFILE OF THE HERITAGE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Established by act of the Ohio General Assembly in 1975, the Heritage College of
Osteopathic Medicine was created to help alleviate the state’s growing shortage of family
physicians and to train doctors for chronically underserved areas of the state. Its first class
of 24 students began their studies in Athens in the fall of 1976.
Since that time, the Heritage College has grown dramatically, training more than 3,500
physicians who are working in communities with some of the greatest health care needs,
both in Ohio and beyond. In 2014, the medical school opened its Dublin campus with
generous support from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation award, Vision 2020: Leading
the Transformation of Primary Care in Ohio, and in partnership with OhioHealth. Just a year
later, the college opened its third campus in Cleveland in affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.
Today, the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is a leader in training primary
care physicians and other critical physician specialists who are prepared to address the most
pervasive medical needs in the state and the nation. Forty-eight percent of Heritage College
alumni practice in primary care specialties and subspecialties and 58 percent practice in Ohio.
ACADEMIC HERALDRY
The caps, gowns and hoods worn today in these Commencement Exercises are patterned after
the attire of monks and students in the Middle Ages. Those possessing the doctoral degree
wear gowns with broad velvet panels down the front and three velvet bars on the full, round,
open sleeves. This velvet trimming is usually black, but can be hunter green, which is distinctive
to the field of osteopathic medicine. Most of the color and meaning of the costume is found in
the hood. These are silk-lined with the colors of the institution conferring the degree. As can
readily be observed, the official colors of Ohio University are green and white. The border of the
hood is velvet, and its color signifies the field of learning to which the degree pertains.
CEREMONIAL MACE
For centuries, the mace has been used as a symbol of authority. Though it originated as a
club-like weapon, in the middle ages a modified and less practical mace came to signify
royal power. Over time, civic and then university officials also adopted maces ornamented
with their own coats of arms. Today, the ceremonial maces carried in procession represent
the authority of monarchs, legislatures and universities around the world.
The late David R. Klahn, professor of art, designed the Ohio University Ceremonial Mace.
It is modeled after one of the balustrades of an original stairway of Cutler Hall, the oldest
building in use on the campus, and the University’s main administrative building. Cast in
bronze, the mace is 46” long and weighs 16 pounds. It features the University seal and a
stylized representation of the Cutler Hall cupola.
The mace is carried and displayed during official ceremonies at Ohio University, including
Commencement.
THE SEAL OF OFFICE
Worn by the president at official Ohio University functions, the Seal of Office also was designed
by Professor Klahn. Fabricated of silver and bronze, the primary medallion features a silhouette
of Cutler Hall, the date of Ohio University’s founding (1804), and the words, “OHIO’S FIRST
UNIVERSITY.” The secondary medallion at the back of the chain is the University Seal. Smaller
medallions, replicas of the two center portions of the University Seal, are interspersed alternately
with the chain’s links. The Seal of Office was created for the inauguration of President Robert
Glidden in 1994 and has been passed on to future presidents of Ohio University.
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