We’re opening a time capsule!
Join us Aug. 24 to see what’s inside
In December 1976, members of the NEOMED community gathered to place a time capsule inside the campus cornerstone with instructions that it be opened in 2026.
Nearly 50 years later, join us as we open the capsule, reflect on our history and help preserve NEOMED’s story for future generations.
About the event
On December 16, 1976, legislators, university leaders, faculty, staff, students, and community members gathered for NEOUCOM’s Cornerstone Ceremony. During the event, a copper time capsule was placed behind the cornerstone and filled with items representing the institution’s beginnings and aspirations for the future.
Among the contents were Senate Bill 72, architectural renderings, class photographs, rosters, campus plans, and letters intended for those who would open the capsule in 2026.
On August 24, 2026, these items will be revealed for the first time in nearly five decades –and add our own stories, memories, and hopes for the next 50 years.
Help create the next time capsule
The original time capsule captured a moment in 1976.
Now it’s our turn.
Share a memory, upload a photo, offer advice to future students, or tell us what NEOMED means to you. Submissions will be preserved in the next time capsule!
Support the next 50 years
Honor NEOMED’s future with a symbolic gift of $50 to the Blue Fund.
Your gift supports students, strengthens the University and helps ensure the next generation of healthcare professionals continues to thrive.
A list of donors will be included in the 2026 Time Capsule.
Gallery
Photos from the cornerstone event, construction and groundbreaking.
An Akron Beacon Journal page from June 21, 1974, with photos of the Bryan F. Jones farm and details about its planned purchase for the site of NEOMED, then called Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
An aerial photograph shows farmland outlined in white to indicate the planned site for NEOMED.
The entrance to the Bryan Jones farm in the early 1970s before it was developed into NEOMED.
A photo dated June 18, 1975, shows plans approved by Clayton G. Horn (left), Dr. Stanley W. Olson, NEOMED provost (center) and Dr. Robert E. Tschantz, chairman of Board of Trustees.
U.S. Rep. John F. Seiberling speaks at the cornerstone ceremony in Rootstown on Dec. 16, 1976.
Joseph Zarconi, a member of NEOMED’s first graduating class in 1981, speaks at the 1976 cornerstone ceremony. He later held numerous teaching and leadership positions at the University and was named a distinguished professor in 2024.
Ground was broken Dec. 17, 1975, for NEOMED. Wielding shovels are members of the Board of Trustees (from left) Leonard P. Caccamo, M.D.; Robert E. Tschantz, M.D.; John L. Feudner, Jr.; Glenn A. Olds, Ph.D.; Clayton G. Horn; D. J. Guzzetta, Ph.D.; John J. Coffelt, Ph.D.; Ben Maidenburg; Stanley W. Olson, M.D., Provost.
Left, Bryan Jones places a horseshoe from his farm into the time capsule. Right, Jay Wheeler places slides, a model of an eye and small pieces of medical equipment into the capsule. Behind the podium is Provost Stanley Olson, M.D.
Contact
NEOMED Advancement,
NEOMED Foundation
330.325.6662
philanthropy@neomed.edu