Convocation 2017 | Page 3

Executive Dean’s Message Dear members of the Class of 2021, Congratulations on becoming a student at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. You were chosen over many other outstanding applicants, and this is an accomplishment of which you can be very proud. You are now part of an esteemed heritage that stretches back over four decades to an inaugural class of 24 students who began medical school in Athens in 1976. With the opening of our campuses in Dublin in 2014 and Cleveland in 2015, our college has grown dramatically, but our commitment to training more high-quality physicians to address the most pervasive health care needs in our state and our nation has not wavered. It truly is an exciting time to be entering the Heritage College as a first-year student. Your next four years will be both rigorous and rewarding. You will work closely with your classmates and our faculty in the research, gross anatomy and simulation labs; in lectures and small-group sessions; and out in the community and around the state on rotations at our clinical training sites. These experiences will be every bit as important to your education as your individual scores on assignments and exams. Our pre-clinical and clinical faculty members, researchers and administrators are here to support you in your education, and to counsel you through your next four years and beyond, as you make decisions about how and where you want to practice. You have chosen a profession dedicated to improving human health and lives. In this ceremony, we welcome you as a member of the osteopathic medical community, a distinguished group of professionals committed to excellence in patient care and the well-being of our communities. There is no better place to learn the art and science of osteopathic medicine than at the Heritage College in Athens, Dublin and Cleveland. On behalf of the college, I extend our best wishes for your continued success. Kenneth H. Johnson, D.O. Executive Dean August 5, 2017 3