Rootstown-based Northeast Ohio Medical University recently received a $10 million donation from two local physicians to establish a dental school.
The donation was given by Gary Bitonte, MD, and David Bitonte, DO, directors of the Dr. Dominic A. and Helen M. Bitonte Family Foundation, named after their late parents. The brothers' father was a dentist.
This is the largest individual amount that the university's foundation has ever received, according to a Sept. 29 news release. The school will be named the Bitonte College of Dentistry in honor of the donation.
The commitment came after the medical school was given the green light from its board of directors to open a dental school to improve oral healthcare in the state.