Traditions
UNIVERSITY PROFILE
For more than 219 years, Ohio University’s faculty, staff and administrators have committed to providing the nation’s best transformative learning experience. More than 29,000 students annually are educated on the residential campus in Athens, five regional campuses, two extension campuses and through our online programs.
Our faculty’s commitment to research and discovery ensures that each and every student who passes through our gates receives a solid foundation for success. Ohio University’s graduates leave prepared to achieve their personal and professional goals. They are the promise of Ohio University, and the Ohio University family is very proud of their achievements.
PROFILE OF THE HERITAGE COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Established by an 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.
Over the last five decades, the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine has experienced remarkable growth. In 2014, the college expanded with the opening of its Dublin campus, made possible through the generous support of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation and in partnership with OhioHealth. A year later, the college opened its Cleveland campus in affiliation with Cleveland Clinic. Today, one in three D.O.s in Ohio is a graduate of the Heritage College.
To date, the college has trained more than 5,100 physicians who serve communities with some of the greatest health care needs, both in Ohio and beyond. By staying true to our mission, the Heritage College has become a top producer of primary care physicians in the state and a national leader in rural and underserved care. While alumni practice in all 50 states, 60 percent of our alumni remain in Ohio, and more than 55 percent practice primary care within the state.
As the Heritage College looks ahead to its next 50 years, it remains committed to educating future generations of physicians who will carry forward the traditions of the osteopathic profession while advancing the health and well-being of the communities they serve.
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.
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
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