New scholarship honors advocacy of OU-HCOM dean
Intent to encourage Ohio students to pursue primary care careers

(ATHENS, Ohio – May 9, 2012) During a gala reception attended by several hundred people at the Ohio Osteopathic Symposium (OOS) in Columbus on Friday, April 20, Jack Brose, D.O., the departing executive dean for health affairs at Ohio University and dean of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM), received several accolades and commendations, including the announcement of a new scholarship for medical students named in his honor.

The intent of the John A. Brose, D.O. Primary Care Scholarship is to encourage medical students from the central or southeastern regions of Ohio to pursue careers in primary care medicine in the state, said Richard Vincent, president and chief executive officer of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations.

In making the announcement, Vincent said the scholarship was named in honor of Brose for his “unyielding focus and incredibly clear vision” of his advocacy for primary care in Ohio.

“This has become the exhortation for Dr. Brose during his tenure as dean,” Vincent said. “There is no one more deserving and who has advanced a college in such a short period of time.”

The $30,000 annual scholarship is part of more than $13 million earmaked for scholarships in the $105 million gift from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations given to OU-HCOM last year. The gift funds initiatives to advance the primary care mission of the college and to meet the continuing health care needs in communities throughout Ohio. With the challenges facing the current generation of medical students, especially those who want to make a difference with a career in primary care medicine, scholarships such as this will benefit students from underserved areas in making their dreams of becoming osteopathic physicians a reality.

“Dr. Brose has served the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine for 30 years – as a scholar, physician, teacher and mentor, and advocate for primary care in Ohio and the leader of the college as the dean who transformed the school by focusing on excellence, growth and innovation,” said Jeffrey Stanley, D.O. (’82), president of the OU-HCOM Society of Alumni and Friends, which also contributed $50,000 to the scholarship endowment.

The scholarship funds one medical student per year and is renewable each year, The scholarship will be given to an Appalachian or underserved student from central or southeastern Ohio who:

• demonstrates financial need;

• is an Ohio resident who attended high school in the state;

• intends to practice primary care in the Ohio;

•  and maintains academic and professional excellence.

“It meant a great deal to me because I do have a particular interest in primary care and a particular interest in helping disadvantage students who go into medicine, and this is an opportunity to really assist outstanding students who fall into those categories,” Brose said. “I am very excited about it because it means even more because it is being supported by the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and partially supported by our alumni association. It is a really wonderful surprise.”

The first scholarship will be awarded for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Also during the reception, Brose was honored by the Ohio Osteopathic Association with the Distinguished Service Award for his powerful leadership of the college, which included the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations’ gift, the college’s 40 percent enrollment increase,  redevelopment of the curriculum and construction of the $34.5 million Osteopathic Heritage Foundations & Charles R. and Marilyn Y. Suckey Academic & Research Center. Jeffery Hunter, D.O., associate chief of staff for clinical and academic affairs at the Chillicothe Veterans Medical Center in Chillicothe, presented Brose with a commendation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for his work in establishing the first psychiatric osteopathic residency in Ohio at the Chillicothe Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., chief medical officer, recognized the dean for his longtime work with OhioHealth,.

Brose also received a Letter of Commendation from the Ohio House of Representatives, sponsored and signed by House Speaker William Batcheldor, Rep. Terry Johnson, D.O. (’91) and Rep. Debbie Phillips.

Brose will retire from his position as dean of the college in July, but will continue his faculty role at the medical school in addition to assuming new responsibilities in the Ohio University as Vice Provost for Health Affairs and Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President and Provost for Ohio University.