A culture of giving
Alumni support for spaces within the new Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center at Hamilton Hall hails from a sense of tradition, purpose — and memory.
In October 2024, during The Ohio State University College of Medicine’s reunion weekend, alumni gathered to celebrate philanthropic support for named spaces and spaces named in honor of classmates in the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center (IHSC) at Hamilton Hall — everything from student lounges, study areas and program-specific rooms, to the heart of Hamilton Hall and the IHSC: the strikingly expansive forum with its floor-to-ceiling, triple-glazed glass windows that bring the outdoors inside the atrium, creating a vibrant event and gathering space.
"Quite literally, these “forever Buckeyes” are helping to build the future of medicine at Ohio State," says Carol R. Bradford, MD, MS, FACS, dean of the Ohio State College of Medicine. “They are investing in the learners who will transform the health of our communities for decades to come.”
Ohio State College of Medicine alumni have given more than$9.8 million to the IHSC with $1.8 million coming from class projects. They understand the hard work and determination it takes to complete a medical program of study, inspiring them to pay it forward by empowering the next generation of health care leaders. From sponsoring first-year medical students’ white coats worn during the time-honored White Coat Ceremony, to supporting scholarships that help relieve students’ financial concerns, Ohio State College of Medicine alumni are visionaries who can see the critical role these learners will play in the future of innovation and discovery in health care
This fall, alumni came together to celebrate their individual and class gifts, which will have a lasting impact on generations of medical students to come. They were also eager to see and experience the activities in the renovated “college home” of Hamilton Hall, and the new 100,000-square-foot IHSC featuring flexible facilities that foster collaborative educational experiences. We caught up with some of these inspiring individuals to ask about their philanthropy and to share some memories about their time on campus. Here’s what they had to say
Space: Paulson student lounge
William (Bill) Kose ’71 MD, is the vice president of special projects with the Blanchard Valley Health System in Findlay, Ohio, and one of the chairs of the Ohio State College of Medicine Class of 1971. The class supported a peaceful student lounge named in honor of George Paulson, MD, who was a member of the Ohio State College of Medicine’s neurology faculty. Paulson passed away in 2019.
About the IHSC space: Our vision was to remember and honor the legacy of Dr. Paulson, who was our Professor of the Year for the Class of 1971. George was an inspiration to all for his expertise, humility and kindness, in addition to being a great mentor. He was always available, listened intently, and taught the importance of the patient history and physical examination.
The student experience: Medicine is a discipline demanding continual learning, critical thinking, innovation and evolving technologies. Those concepts are being taught at Ohio State and will be accelerated with the new facilities in Hamilton Hall as simulations and artificial intelligence are incorporated into basic training. A student memory: The class of1971 entered the cadaver lab for the first time in 1967; four of them walked right out again and left medical school.
Space: study rooms
Roger Friedman ’77 MD, ’80 Res, and Marilyn B. Friedman, made two gifts to the IHSC, one supporting the Class of 1977’s study room and one supporting a study room in their own name. Friedman, a past president of the Ohio State College of Medicine’s Medical Alumni Society Board, is an allergist and immunologist based in Dublin and Westerville, Ohio.
About the IHSC spaces: We were inspired to make a gift to Hamilton Hall to continue our efforts to improve medical education, especially at Ohio State. I feel very strongly that giving back to the place where I learned to become a doctor was, and is, very important.
A student memory: Learning is so different now than 45 years ago when I was in medical school. My favorite memory of Hamilton Hall was first year anatomy. Since I did not want to be a surgeon and my fellow students on my dissection team were interested in surgery, my job was to travel around to the other groups, find out where the internal organs were and come back to tell my group where to look.
Space: Hamilton Hall Gallery
David Packo ’89 MD, supported the gallery, an open staircase leading from the main floor upstairs. He is a retired emergency medicine physician and investor based in Naples, Florida. About the IHSC space: I gave because I’m so happy, honored and humbled to give back to the school that gave me so much! Ohio State was instrumental in making me the physician I became. I love seeing the technology medical students can utilize to help their learning. It’s truly awe-inspiring!
A student memory: I have so many incredibly great memories from Hamilton Hall and Ohio State in general. It’s such a great institution! We had so many opportunities, great times and tremendous friendships! I suppose my fondest memories are my classmates, who were and still are incredible individuals.
Space: study room
Eric Altneu ’15 MD, ’19 Res, is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia. Kelly Copeland Hall ’15 MD, ’19 Res, is an obstetrician and gynecologist and program director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The two collaborated to support a study space like the ones they used during their time on campus. Dr. Altneu, on the IHSC space: I remember after lectures in the morning finding a quiet study space with Kelly Copeland and Maeve Maher ’16 MD, ’20 Res. We always secured the same table each time. I wanted to give so that future classes could have a space to call their own for years to come. Dr. Copeland, on the IHSC space: My classmate Eric and I were inspired to provide a gift toward study space in Hamilton Hall by our own experiences studying together in medical school. We loved to find a quiet corner space where we could review the day’s lectures together. We chose to sponsor just that! A quiet corner space for studying.
