COLUMBUS-–The Ohio State University has announced a recent gift of $130,000 from Baltimore, Maryland, native Corbett A. Price, chairman and CEO of Kurron Shares of America of New York, NY. His contribution:

· Augments university resources allocated to support the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, an interdisciplinary research center to be established at Ohio State. Plans for the institute originated in the colleges of Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Law.

· Is a lead gift supporting the creation of a Health Services Management and Policy (HSMP) Professorship in the College of Medicine and Public Health’s School of Public Health.

Under the leadership of College of Humanities Dean Michael Hogan and colleagues from the College of Law and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, plans for establishing the Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas—as well as a search for its director—are well under way. The institute is envisioned as a center for interdisciplinary research, learning, and dissemination of knowledge on the history, current conditions, and future prospects for racial and ethnic minorities. Designed to establish Ohio State as an international research leader in the field, the institute will consolidate individual scholarly efforts already taking place; function as a public resource, through outreach and community involvement programs; and contribute significantly to local, state, national, and international discourse on crucial issues of race and ethnicity. In addition, the institute will enable the university to develop a cadre of graduate students trained in this interdisciplinary field and will greatly enhance its efforts to recruit and retain minority faculty members.

“The Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas will help us establish the university as a leader in an emerging interdisciplinary field with significant opportunities for both academic recognition and external funding,” said university President William E. Kirwan. “In addition, it will encourage scholarship in a field of overwhelming social, political, and cultural importance, advancing outreach on local, national, and global scales. And it will enable us to build a more diverse faculty by playing a role in the recruitment and retention of top minority scholars.”

“I am very enthusiastic about this initiative,” Price added. “The institute will greatly enhance the university’s efforts to become one of the top ten public institutions, to foster diversity, and to maintain its commitment to community outreach.”

With more than 600 alumni nationwide and in several other countries, the graduate program in HSMP prepares its students for management and policy positions in health service and related organizations, as well as for research and academic careers. The professorship supported by the Price gift will enable the program to recruit and retain a nationally renowned faculty member with a distinguished record in teaching, research, and publication.

“We’re very appreciative of Mr. Price’s gift to support this professorship. His generosity will help us to continue to recruit top-notch faculty members to our Health Services Management and Policy program,” said Fred Sanfilippo, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president and dean of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. “Health care is such a critical issue in today’s society and it’s imperative that we have strong faculty members and programs in health policy and management to train tomorrow’s leaders.”

“I hope that my support of this professorship will inspire others to make gifts to complete funding for this important faculty position,” said Price. “I applaud the work being done by [Professor and program Chairman] Steve Loebs and his colleagues—not only in preparing others for management positions in the field, but also for their valuable contributions to research aimed at improving health services.”

Price earned an M.S. degree in health administration from Ohio State in 1975. In 1990, he founded Kurron Shares of America, a New York-based consulting company specializing in the acquisition and/or restructuring of hospitals and health care systems. Prior to that, he held a number of executive positions at the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), most recently as district vice president for HCA’s mid-Atlantic Division, directing the operations of 20 hospitals in four states and the District of Columbia.

Price’s past gifts to Ohio State include an endowment established in HSMP to support scholarships, technological enhancements, and training programs. His most recent gift is part of Ohio State’s ongoing fund-raising efforts following the success of its $1.23 billion “Affirm Thy Friendship” Campaign.

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