Study upholds school’s value

The report suggests the medical school remain an independent entity.

THE VINDICATOR

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

ROOTSTOWN — The president of Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy said a study of higher education collaboration in the region underscores the importance of medical education and research to the economic well-being of Northeast Ohio.

More people are now aware of how important NEOUCOM is to this region, “and I am pleased with that,” said Dr. Lois Margaret Nora, NEOUCOM president, responding to the final version of the North East Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission report released Friday.

The commission, created by the state Legislature, looked at ways that five regional schools — NEOUCOM, Youngstown State University, the University of Akron, Kent State University and Cleveland State University — might better work together to improve educational offerings while controlling costs.

The commission came up with a list of 18 recommendations on how that might be accomplished, and its report will be submitted to the Legislature and Eric Fingerhut, Ohio’s chancellor of higher education.

There were some suggestions during the commission’s deliberations that NEOUCOM be merged or linked in some other fashion with other entities, but the final report proposes that NEOUCOM remain an independent entity true to its primary mission of improving the health and health-care access of Northeast Ohio residents.

It also recommends that NEOUCOM expand its BS/MD degree program (which already has Youngstown, Kent and Akron as partners) to include Cleveland State, albeit with sufficient funding being provided by the state or private resources to make it happen.

Nora sees that as an appropriate proposal and a good thing, but pointed out that it can’t be done at the expense of the current partners, each of whom has a 35-student slot in the program they can fill each year.

Additional program funding definitely would be required, she said.

The study also calls for expanded medical and health science-related research in the region.

Research already is a significant part of the NEOUCOM mission, Nora said, noting that the school has ongoing research programs in various fields, both individually and in partnership with universities, and she is excited about the possibility of seeing that research effort grow.

Fingerhut, in a statement released Friday, said the report and recommendations “are an important first step for University System of Ohio colleges and universities in the region. The fact that the commission has recommended its public higher education institutions collaborate more, compete with each other less, establish centers of excellence, and pool resources to save money — among other recommendations — shows that the conversation on higher education and the economy has fundamentally changed in the region and state.”

Fingerhut said he intends to examine the report as a 10-year master plan for higher education is developed. That master plan is to be presented to Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly in March.

gwin@vindy.com