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John (Jack) and Linda Brose, of Athens, Ohio, have gifted $25,000 to Ä¢¹½tv for its proposed college of osteopathic medicine.

In December 2022, Ä¢¹½tv’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at Ä¢¹½tv. With this gift, Ä¢¹½tv has secured more than $34.3 million in private and government funding for the initiative.

Jack Brose, executive dean emeritus, professor of family medicine, and former vice provost for health affairs at Ohio University, joined Ä¢¹½tv’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine team as a consultant and executive mentor in 2022.

“Dr. Brose continues to be absolutely irreplaceable in our work to establish a college of osteopathic medicine at Ä¢¹½tv,” Ä¢¹½tv proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose said. “He’s truly all-in, attending meetings, planning sessions, freely offering his experiences and advice on best practices. He is nationally known for his work and for his commitment to medical education. He continues to be a mentor and trusted advisor to me, personally, and to the team. Ä¢¹½tv and the proposed college of osteopathic medicine team are incredibly lucky to have his knowledge and his support.

“We are so grateful for all he has done, and continues to do, in our work to establish the prospective college,” she said. “This gift from the Broses exemplifies the couple’s lifelong commitment to the importance of medical education and providing opportunities to talented potential physicians,” she said.

The fund that the donation will establish is designed to provide scholarships for future students in the proposed college of osteopathic medicine.

Jack Brose served as executive dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2001 to 2012 and vice provost for health affairs from 2012 to 2015. During his tenure, he partnered with the OhioHealth Healthcare System and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to establish new HCOM branch campuses in Dublin and Warrensville Heights, Ohio. To support these endeavors, Brose raised approximately $130 million, which included a gift of $105M from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation. At that time, this was the largest educational gift ever conferred to a state university in Ohio. Expansion of the Athens campus and creation of the two new branch campuses ultimately increased HCOM’s entering class from 100 to 250 students. 

In addition, Brose created a new faculty practice plan, constructed a new research facility, created a medical malpractice insurance corporation, and assumed leadership of the Ohio University student health system. He served three years as chair of the Ohio Council of Medical School Deans, two years as chair of the AACOM Assembly of Presidents, and was a member of the AOA COCA. As a consultant, he worked with the American Board of Medical Specialties to promote osteopathic medical education and facilitate the AOA/ACGME residency merger. 

Linda Brose, a graduate of Gettysburg College, was an elementary school music teacher in Shippensburg and Fort Worth, Texas.

“When Ä¢¹½tv President (Dr. Michael) Driscoll asked me to return as a consultant, I asked if I could be an unpaid volunteer,” Jack Brose said.

“I wanted to be involved in Ä¢¹½tv’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine because I was convinced that Ä¢¹½tv’s mission was so important and critically needed in Pennsylvania’s rural areas. I love working with the Ä¢¹½tv team, and I strongly believe in the university’s mission; this gift is an extension of my belief in the project and in Ä¢¹½tv. Linda and I both believe strongly in Ä¢¹½tv’s mission and look forward to making additional donations to the Ä¢¹½tv scholarship each year,” he said.

“Ä¢¹½tv’s proposed college’s commitment to addressing rural health is totally different than other colleges of medicine, and it is desperately needed. Ä¢¹½tv’s college of osteopathic medicine is going to be very, very unique, and it will fill a number of tremendous societal needs. One of these is accessibility to mental health services. When Dr. Rose first said she wanted to emphasize mental health, I did some research and confirmed her assertion that mental health care is one of the biggest needs in rural communities. The Ä¢¹½tv team’s idea of emphasizing mental health training for primary health care physicians is simply brilliant,” he said.

“I have absolutely no doubt that President Driscoll, Provost and Vice President Luetkehans, Dean Rose, and the Ä¢¹½tv team will be successful in establishing one of the most important new medical schools in the country. I am extremely grateful for having been given an opportunity to work with them,” he said.

Prior to being named executive dean for the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Brose was a medical school and residency faculty member. He served as professor of family medicine at Ohio University, clinical associate professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and instructor at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

While an HCOM and OSU faculty member, Brose received 30 teaching awards, including the Ohio Academy of Family Practice’s “Family Practice Educator of the Year” and The Ohio State University’s “Family Practice Residency Faculty of the Year.” He was the lead author of two editions of the widely used Guide to EKG Interpretation and co-authored over 20 research papers. He delivered over 100 research and CME presentations and hosted a weekly nationwide radio program on family health.

Following his tenure as executive dean and vice provost, Brose worked with multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities in an endeavor to increase the number of African American students entering health care fields.   He has consulted nationally for universities establishing new medical schools, both for osteopathic and allopathic medicine. 

He is an EKG instructor and cultural medicine instructor at Ohio University and an advisory board member for the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio University College of Health Sciences and Professions.

In June 2025, the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation announced a new endowment to be named in honor of Jack Brose to support the newly renamed Institute for Molecular Medicine and Aging (formerly the Edison Biotechnology Institute) at HCOM. In making the announcement, Terri Donlin Huesman, president/CEO, said, “Naming the endowment in honor of Dr. Brose is a testament to his leadership of, and vision for, Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine during his decades of service, and the legacy of impact he created.”

Pennsylvania, especially its rural communities, faces an escalating health care crisis associated with the lack of physicians, especially primary care physicians; seven rural counties in Pennsylvania are without a hospital. Ä¢¹½tv’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine, once established, would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in Pennsylvania.

 Ä¢¹½tv has formally initiated steps towards accreditation of its proposed college of osteopathic medicine from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, a three- to five-year process that includes submission of self-studies and a feasibility study, along with site visits.

There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; Ä¢¹½tv’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university.

Doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, complete four years of osteopathic medical school, with an emphasis on preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. They are trained to recognize the interrelated unity among all systems of the body, each working with the other to promote overall health and wellness. Osteopathic medical schools have a long tradition of serving rural communities. Physicians who are trained in osteopathic medicine are four times more likely to select primary care specialties and almost twice as likely to practice in rural areas as allopathic (MD) students are.

National studies show that graduates from programs of osteopathic medicine are more likely to pursue primary care in rural and underserved areas—57 percent of all doctors of osteopathic medicine practice as general practitioners, and more than 20 percent of DO graduates practice in rural areas. Demand is high for osteopathic medicine training: in 2021, 22,708 applicants competed for 8,280 seats at schools of osteopathic medicine. 

In addition to the Brose’s gift, funding advancing the proposed college of osteopathic medicine includes:

• A $50,000 gift from John Ninosky, a 1993 Ä¢¹½tv graduate, in honor of his late wife, Tammy Beale Ninosky, a 1993 graduate (July)

• A $50,000 gift from Ä¢¹½tv graduate Thomas Smith, of Hollidaysburg (June)

• A $50,000 gift from Ä¢¹½tv graduate Lt. Col. Barry Gasdek (May)

• A $1 million gift from an anonymous donor who is a graduate of Ä¢¹½tv and an Indiana County native (April)

• An anonymous gift of $25,000 (April)

• A $250,000 donation from the Fairman Family Foundation (February)

• A $50,000 gift from Theodore Lazzaro, board-certified surgeon and founder of Aestique Med Spa, Ä¢¹½tv for scholarships for students in health care professions (December 2024)

• Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi announced in October 2024 that $2 million from the 2024–25 state budget has been set aside for the project

• A $2 million gift from 1973 graduates Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka (July 2024). Tim Cejka, a member of Ä¢¹½tv’s Council of Trustees since 2018, is an Ä¢¹½tv 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and an honorary doctoral degree recipient

• A $20-million commitment from the Foundation for Ä¢¹½tv (June 2024)

• In May 2024, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler included $2 million for Ä¢¹½tv’s project among his FY25 requested community projects, and Senator John Fetterman included $2 million on his list to advance in the FY25 Community Project Funding process

• Ä¢¹½tv received a $150,000 allocation for the project in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which was sponsored by Congressman Reschenthaler and Senator Fetterman and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, 2024

• In February 2024, the Board of Governors allocated $500,000 for a facilities feasibility study for academic facilities for Ä¢¹½tv’s health sciences cluster and the proposed college of osteopathic medicine

• A donation of $500,000 from the Alumni Association Board of Directors (January 2024)

• In December 2023, Sen. Pittman announced that as part of the 2023–24 state budget, $2 million was set aside for the project

• A donation of $40,000 from Ä¢¹½tv graduates Nick Jacobs and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs (July 2023). Nick Jacobs is a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who has a 1969 bachelor’s degree in education and a 1972 master’s degree in music education; Mary Ann Jacobs has a 1968 bachelor’s degree in music education and a 1993 master’s degree in adult and community education

• A pledge of $1 million from Rich Caruso, a 1983 accounting graduate from Meadow Lands (May 2023). Caruso is a 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and former president and current member of the Foundation for Ä¢¹½tv Board of Directors and a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors

Since its founding in 1875, Ä¢¹½tv has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As Ä¢¹½tv celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.