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College Showcases New Sport Sciences Facility During Governor’s Visit

Ohio Department of Health Roundtable Participants Tour Center for Sport Sciences While Gov. John Kasich only made it to the outskirts of Wilmington Tuesday to present the State-of-the-State address, a number of governmental entities converged in the city for special community roundtables. (LEFT) Terry Rupert shares plans for the Center for Sport Sciences. Pictured at the right is Richard Hodges, director of the Ohio Department of Health. One of those was the Ohio Dept. of Health and its director Richard Hodges, who hosted a session at Wilmington College addressing tobacco use as an issue affecting the health of Ohioans. Prior to their meeting, Hodges and other roundtable participants toured the College’s new Center for Sport Sciences, which in under construction with an anticipated move-in date in mid-August. The Center will not only be home to the College’s nationally renowned athletic training and sport management programs, but it will feature a 17,400 square-foot sport training facility with an all-indoor, artificial turf surface, which opens to an outdoor, lighted training field. However, the center’s distinctness comes from three business partners that are closely associated with the emerging campus facility. Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Drayer Physical Therapy and Clinton Memorial Hospital all will have satellite locations in the Center for Sport Sciences. Beacon CEO Glen Prasser said partnerships are “essential” in health care. "We’re not aware of anything of this magnitude on a Division III college campus,” he said. “It’s going to be a showcase that people will be talking about nationally. This is a win for Wilmington College and a win for the greater Wilmington community.” Hodges said he believes there will be partnership opportunities for the Ohio Dept. of Health and the College as the Center for Sport Sciences goes online and evolves as a major educational and health care facility. Larry Howard, professor and WC’s athletic training program director, said his area’s part of the new facility is more than three times the size of the College’s current athletic training center, and it can provide a springboard for expanding WC’s academic and experiential programming in the allied health field. He cited how athletic training students will need look no further than Beacon, Drayer and CMH for opportunities for the types of hands-on learning and clinical experiences their training requires. Dr. Terry Rupert, vice president for athletic administration at WC, said it’s an especially exciting time at Wilmington College. “It’s a great time right now. We’ve heard a lot of buzz about this facility,” he said. “Our students, faculty, staff, and coaches are really looking forward to August.”