Students training to become urban primary care physicians need look no further than Dr. John E. Coletta for inspiration. And now a scholarship in his name is helping CSU students achieve their dream of a medical degree.

Concetta and Tom Kuluris established the John E. Coletta, M.D. Endowed Scholarship to honor the memory of Concetta’s father. The scholarship supports students in the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health program which is training primary care physicians who will eventually practice in Cleveland or other urban areas. The Partnership is one of few such collaborations in the nation and addresses a national issue – the shortage of primary care physicians for urban areas.

Dr. Coletta, who passed away in 2012, was a graduate of Collinwood High School. He received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Following military service in Korea, he returned to Cleveland to open a neighborhood medical practice that thrived for more than 40 years. A three-term chief of staff at Hillcrest Hospital, a Cleveland Clinic facility in Mayfield Heights, he was revered by his patients as a physician who combined compassionate care with extraordinary bedside manner.

“My father-in-law was a respected physician who touched countless numbers of lives. His legacy lives on through this scholarship in support of medical students who aspire to follow in his footsteps,” says Kuluris.

A member of the CSU Foundation board of directors, Kuluris is the co-founder/president/CEO of Liberty Development Company. Concetta is actively engaged in the Cleveland community; together they are raising four young children. The couple also strongly supports Radiance.