Heritage is the only medical college in the state to award the D.O. degree. In 2011, the college received the largest private donation ever to be given to a medical college in the U.S. Approximately 240,000 living alumni now consider Ohio their alma mater, with Governors, Senators, Astronauts and media celebrities amongst its ranks. Ohio is consistently classified among the top public universities in U.S. News & World Report ranking of "Best American Colleges," and named by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Doctoral/High Research Activity institution.