Xavier marks halfway point in med school construction

Xavier University’s construction of its new on-campus medical college reached a major milestone last week as Messer Construction Co. completed the 130,000-square-foot facility’s steel structure.

University officials and its community partners gathered Friday morning for what’s known in construction circles as a “topping out ceremony,” a longstanding industry tradition in which a facility’s final structural beam is put into place. The event signals the project is roughly halfway complete and keeps the facility on track to open in the latter half of 2026. 

Xavier plans to welcome its first class of medical students in fall 2027.

“Today marks another milestone for our University’s historic endeavor,” said President Colleen Hanycz. “As our community watched this world-class facility rise from the ground here on our Cincinnati campus, I could not help but look ahead to the life-changing outcomes this medical school will bring to our future doctors and their patients.”

A campus-changing project

Announced in May 2023, the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine promises to reshape a key corner of Xavier’s campus. 

The state-of-the-art facility will house a simulation hospital with 16 exam rooms and five flexible simulation rooms, a nearly 200-seat lecture hall and a 5,600-square-foot meeting hall. Renderings also show a teaching kitchen designed to help students learn to prepare nutritious meals – a feature supporting both hands-on learning and long-term preventive care.

While construction moves ahead, Xavier continues to progress through the accreditation process. Earlier this year, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation granted the proposed school Candidate Status, confirming the university has the planning and resources needed to move toward Pre-Accreditation Status. 

That milestone, which Xavier aims to achieve by mid-2026, will allow the university to recruit and teach students.

As far as physical construction goes, the project remains on pace as well. Messer crews will now begin enclosing the structure and starting interior work to maintain the project’s timeline, said Messer Vice President Pete Bergman. He called the topping out ceremony “not only an exciting project milestone, but also an opportunity to recognize the Messer craft professionals and subcontractors who are working onsite every day” to safely build the facility.

A first-of-its-kind medical school

Once established, Xavier’s new college will become the world’s first Jesuit osteopathic medical school and Ohio’s first new medical school in nearly half a century.

University leaders view the project as a direct response to mounting physician shortages. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services predicts Ohio will be short 1,200 physicians by 2025, while national projections show a potential deficit of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.

By 2038, Xavier expects to have educated roughly 1,300 physicians, many of whom will likely remain in Ohio’s health care workforce.

“This is a great day not only for Xavier,” Hanycz said of the milestone event, “but for the entire state of Ohio and beyond, as we take another step toward addressing one of today’s most pressing health care needs.”

College of Osteopathic Medicine