At a time one Ohio State student called a turning point in the study of physical activity, the university has received a donation to build a new sports medicine facility.
A Columbus-area family has donated $13.5 million to OSU sports medicine, early childhood and foreign language education programs.
About 30 donors across three generations of the Crane family have committed to the multi-million dollar deal. The majority of the money will go toward the establishment of the Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute in honor of Jameson Crane, a former OSU football player and chairman emeritus of the Crane Group, the family-owned private holding and management business based in Columbus.
Jameson Crane said his family feels a “strong obligation to give back” after the city of Columbus has been such a supportive community to their family and businesses.
“I get a great measure of happiness seeing an impact like this made in my lifetime, and am grateful beyond measure to the three generations of my family who have banded together to make this dream donation a reality,” Crane said in a university press release.
According to a university press release, the 140,000-square-foot facility will be the largest and most comprehensive dedicated sports medicine facility in the country. Facility features will include physicians’ offices, human performance labs, physical therapy and rehabilitation areas, computer modeling and biodynamics laboratories, imaging facilities and surgical suites for observation and training.
Maggie Sullivan, a third-year in exercise science education who plans to work in sports medicine, said the advancement of the physical activity field is at a critical point.
“Anything in the exercise science or the physical activity field would be important right now because obesity rates right now are skyrocketing from even five years ago, diabetes is increasing and child diabetes and obesity are increasing,” Sullivan said.
Various program areas the institute will focus on will be concussions, athletes’ hearts, nutrition, psychology, asthma, athletic training and human performance.
OSU President E. Gordon Gee said the Crane family, many of whom are OSU graduates, has left a legacy of support and the university is “humbled by this tremendous gift.”
“Through this most recent support, the Cranes will advance critical research and education programs … and, in doing so, they set a powerful example of commitment and philanthropy for all of us,” Gee said in the release.
In addition to the Jameson Crane Sports Medicine Institute, the monetary gift will also help fund the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy and the Loann Crane Advanced Language Institute, which “will help students develop cultural and professional skills that prepare them to compete on the global stage,” according to the release.
The donation is consistent with the $2.5 billion “But for Ohio State” campaign launched in October, which aims to raise money for the overall advancement of university programs, research, faculty and students.