Crain's Cleveland Business by Crain's Cleveland Business

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3/28/2014

3:27 PM

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$2.00/MARCH 31 - APRIL 6, 2014

Building a solid skeleton NEOMED on verge of completing last phase of $166M in campus upgrades

Dentistry may be next for university

By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com

Not content with being regarded as an unassuming medical school in rural Portage County, Northeast Ohio Medical University has added quite a bit of muscle to its bones over the last few years. And this August, the university is expected to finalize the last phase of its $166 million bulking up with the completion of a roughly $70 million health, wellness and education center complex on the east side of campus along state Route 44 in Rootstown. The 177,250-square-foot project is expected to include a fitness center, office space for local health care providers, a new home for the on-campus STEM school and classroom space. The ambitious project hasn’t come without a few setbacks. Moody’s Investors Service, for one, downgraded NEOMED’s credit rating twice over the course of five months in 2012 and early 2013, suggesting the university may have bit off more than it could chew. To temper Moody’s concerns, NEOMED sidelined plans for a medical office building. Also, interest in the expansion’s residential component — the

Just call it Root Canal, Ohio? Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown is exploring the possibility of adding a dental school to its offerings. If the university moves forward with the venture, it would be the state’s third dental school, along with Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve.

INSIDE: Akron General pulls out of wellness center project

Page 8

At current, NEOMED is conducting a feasibility study to determine whether the program makes sense for the community and would be financially sustainable. The university hopes to present the study to its board of trustees in June, who will then recommend to NEOMED president Dr. Jay Gershen — a dentist by training — whether the university should move forward with the effort. “Ultimately the goal is to enhance our educational mission and program while seeking additional and diverse revenue streams for the university,” said Sergio Garcia, NEOMED’s chief of staff. NEOMED historically had been a regional medical school, focused on

MCKINLEY WILEY PHOTOS

Above and below right, construction on the inside of the new $70 million health, wellness and education center at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Below left, The Village, which features new student housing.

See NEOMED Page 6

See DENTAL Page 8

Browns are overhauling digital experience

Not content with a standard approach, management is developing a new way for fans to interact, explore via online content

By KEVIN KLEPS kkleps@crain.com

Kevin Griffin has studied the Cleveland Browns’ fan base like a head coach whose idea of a good night’s sleep is dozing off between plays while breaking down game tape. There have been focus groups, surveys and, eventually, a fan advisory committee. Soon, all of the analysis — which

seems more exhaustive than the team’s latest search for a head coach — will be displayed via three digital properties. The Browns are redesigning their website, mobile site and mobile app with the idea of creat- Griffin ing as much quality content as possible for customers who are known to debate the merits of the next class of college quarterbacks long

before FirstEnergy Stadium sees its first snowfall of the season. “We did a lot of research throughout the process,” said Griffin, a former Ohio State football player who was hired last May as the Browns’ vice president of fan experience and marketing. “We looked at the websites of every pro sports team in America, we looked at teams in Europe, and major

companies like Nike, Apple and Red Bull.” There were three goals for the Browns’ trio of digital properties — “young, fresh and vibrant,” Griffin said. To get there, the Browns had to steer clear of the tendency of some NFL websites to have what Griffin describes as a “cookie-cutter design.” “We wanted to be different,” said See BROWNS Page 24

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