Ohio State

The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public universities in the United States. Founded in 1870 as the state's land-grant university and the ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862, Ohio State was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College and focused on various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, but it developed into a comprehensive university under the direction of then-Governor and later U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, and in 1878, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law changing the name to "the Ohio State University" and broadening the scope of the university. Admission standards tightened and became greatly more selective throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

Ohio State's political science department and faculty have greatly contributed to the construction and development of the constructivist and realist schools of international relations; a 2004 LSE study ranked the program as first among public institutions and fourth overall in the world. A member of the Association of American Universities, Ohio State is a leading producer of Fulbright Scholars, and is the only school in North America that offers an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree in welding engineering. The university's endowment of $6.8 billion in 2021 is among the largest in the world. Past and present alumni and faculty include five Nobel Prize laureates, nine Rhodes Scholars, seven Churchill Scholars, one Fields Medalist, seven Pulitzer Prize winners, 64 Goldwater scholars, six U.S. Senators, 15 U.S. Representatives, and 108 Olympic medalists. It is classified among " R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." As of 2021, Ohio State has the most students in the 95th percentile or above on standardized testing of any public university in the United States.

The university has an extensive student life program, with over 1,000 student organizations; intercollegiate, club and recreational sports programs; student media organizations and publications, fraternities and sororities; and three student governments. Its athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Ohio State Buckeyes, and it's a member of the Big Ten Conference for the majority of its sports. The school's football program has had great success and is one of the major programs of college football; their rivalry against the University of Michigan has been termed as one of the greatest in North American sports. As of 2017, Ohio State's football program is valued at $1.5 billion, the highest valuation of any such program in the country. The main campus in Columbus has grown into the third-largest university campus in the United States, with nearly 50,000 undergraduate students and nearly 15,000 graduate students.

History

Founding and early years (1870–1899)

The proposal of a manufacturing and agriculture university in central Ohio was initially met in the 1870s with hostility from the state's agricultural interests and competition for resources from Ohio University, which was chartered by the Northwest Ordinance and Miami University.

Championed by the Republican governor Rutherford B. Hayes, the Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university under the Morrill Act of 1862 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College.

The school was originally within a farming community on the northern edge of Columbus. While some interests in the state had hoped the new university would focus on matriculating students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, Hayes manipulated both the university's location and its initial board of trustees towards a more comprehensive educational mission. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 17, 1873. In 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year. Also in 1878, the Ohio legislature recognized an expanded scope for the university by changing its name to "the Ohio State University."The government of Ohio, in its official web site listing the state's compiled laws: "3335.01 The Ohio State University. The educational institution originally designated as the Ohio agricultural and mechanical college shall be known as "The Ohio State University." http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3335 The definite article "the" is part of Ohio State's legal name; since at least the 1990s, Ohio State alumni – especially NFL players – have emphasized the "the" when referring to their school ("''the'' Ohio State University").

Ohio State began accepting graduate students in the 1880s, and in 1891, the school saw the founding of its law school, Moritz College of Law. It would later acquire colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, commerce and journalism in subsequent years.

Growth and prominence (1900–1980)

In 1906, Ohio State President William Oxley Thompson, along with the university's supporters in the state legislature, put forth the Lybarger Bill with the aim of shifting virtually all higher education support to the continued development of Ohio State while funding only the "normal school" functions of the state's other public universities. Although the Lybarger Bill failed narrowly to gain passage, in its place the Eagleson Bill was passed as a compromise, which determined that all doctoral education and research functions would be the role of Ohio State, and that Miami University and Ohio University would not offer instruction beyond the master's degree level – an agreement that would remain in place until the 1950s. In 1916, Ohio State was elected into membership in the Association of American Universities.

With the onset of the Great Depression, Ohio State would face many of the challenges affecting universities throughout America as budget support was slashed, and students without the means of paying tuition returned home to support families. By the mid-1930s, however, enrollment had stabilized due in large part to the role of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and later the National Youth Administration. By the end of the decade, enrollment had still managed to grow to over 17,500. In 1934, the Ohio State Research Foundation was founded to bring in outside funding for faculty research projects. In 1938, a development office was opened to begin raising funds privately to offset reductions in state support.

In 1952, Ohio State founded the interdisciplinary Mershon Center for International Security Studies, which it still houses. The work of this program led to the United States Department of Homeland Security basing the National Academic Consortium for Homeland Security at the university in 2003.

The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan football programs participated in "The Ten Year War" between 1969 and 1978. In consistently close matches, it pitted coaches Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan against each other. This heated era led to the persistent Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry.

Modern era (1980–present)

Ohio State had an open admissions policy until the late 1980s; particularly since the early 2000s, the college has greatly raised standards for admission, and it has been increasingly cited as one of the best public universities in the United States. As of 2021, it has by far the most students in the country in the 95th percentile or above of test-takers on the ACT and SAT of any public university. The trend particularly began under former university administrator William Kirwan in 1998, who set out to greatly increase the quality of applicants and make the university an elite academic university.

Michael V. Drake, former chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, became the 15th president of the Ohio State University on June 30, 2014. He announced on November 21, 2019, that he would retire at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year. In 2019, Ohio State filed for trademark protection of "the" when it is used to refer to Ohio State; the application was denied. On June 3, 2020, the Ohio State Board of Trustees appointed Kristina M. Johnson, the former chancellor of the State University of New York, as the 16th president of the Ohio State University. The main campus in Columbus has grown into the third-largest university campus in the United States.

On June 22, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the university a trademark on the word "the" in relation to clothing, such as T-shirts, baseball caps and hats distributed and/or sold through athletic or collegiate channels. Ohio State and its fans, in particular those of its athletics program, frequently emphasizes the word "THE" when referring to the school.

2016 terrorist attack

In an attack against the campus on November 28, 2016, a fluorine leak was called in for a laboratory building, and as fire trucks began to depart, Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove into the crowd, then emerged and began stabbing those nearby. The attack was stopped in under two minutes by OSU Police Officer Alan Horujko, who witnessed the attack after responding to the reported gas leak, and shot and killed Artan. Ten people were transported to local hospitals, and one suspect was killed. Local law enforcement and the FBI launched an investigation, which determined that Artan was inspired by terrorist propaganda from the Islamic State and radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

Campus

Ohio State's main campus is about north of Columbus' downtown. The historical center of campus is the Oval, a quad of about . The original campus was laid out in the English country style with University Hall overlooking what would become the Oval. From 1905 to 1913, the Olmsted Brothers, who had designed New York City's Central Park, were contracted as architectural consultants. Under their leadership, a more formal landscape plan was created with its center axis through the Oval. This axis shifted the university's street grid 12.25 degrees from the City of Columbus' street grid. Construction of the main library in 1915 reinforced this grid shift.

Four buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Hale Hall (originally Enarson Hall), Hayes Hall, Ohio Stadium and Orton Hall. Unlike earlier public universities such as Ohio University and Miami University, whose campuses have a consistent architectural style, the Ohio State campus is a mix of traditional, modern and postmodern styles. The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, anchoring the Oval's western end, is Ohio State library's main branch and largest repository. The Thompson Library was designed in 1913 by the Boston firm of Allen and Collens in the Italianate Renaissance Revival style, and its placement on the Oval was suggested by the Olmsted Brothers. In 2006, the Thompson Library began a $100 million renovation to maintain the building's classical Italian Renaissance architecture.

Ohio State operates North America's 18th-largest university research library with a combined collection of over 5.8 million volumes. Additionally, the libraries regularly receive about 35,000 serial titles. Its recent acquisitions were 16th among university research libraries in North America. Along with 21 libraries on its Columbus campus, the university has eight branches at off-campus research facilities and regional campuses, and a book storage depository near campus. In all, the Ohio State library system encompasses 55 branches and specialty collections. Some more significant collections include the Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, which has the archives of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and other polar research materials; the Hilandar Research Library, which has the world's largest collection of medieval Slavic manuscripts on microform; the Ohio State Cartoon Library & Museum, the world's largest repository of original cartoons; the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute; and the archives of Senator John Glenn.

Anchoring the traditional campus gateway at the eastern end of the Oval is the 1989 Wexner Center for the Arts. Designed by architects Peter Eisenman of New York and Richard Trott of Columbus, the center was funded in large part by Ohio State alumnus Leslie Wexner's gift of $25 million in the 1980s. The center was founded to encompass all aspects of visual and performing arts with a focus on new commissions and artist residencies. Part of its design was to pay tribute to the armory that formerly had the same location. Its groundbreaking deconstructivist architecture has resulted in it being lauded as one of the most important buildings of its generation. Its design has also been criticized as proving less than ideal for many of the art installations it has attempted to display. The centerpiece of the Wexner Center's permanent collection is Picasso's '' Nude on a Black Armchair'', which was purchased by alumnus Leslie Wexner at auction for $45 million.

To the south of the Oval is another, somewhat smaller expanse of green space commonly referred to as the South Oval. At its eastern end, it is anchored by the Ohio Union. To the west are Hale Hall, the Kuhn Honors House, Browning Amphitheatre (a traditional stone Greek theatre) and Mirror Lake.

Knowlton Hall, dedicated in October 2004, is at the corner of West Woodruff Avenue and Tuttle Park Place, next to Ohio Stadium. Knowlton Hall along with the Fisher College of Business and Hitchcock Hall form an academic nucleus in the northwestern corner of North campus. Knowlton Hall was designed by Atlanta-based Mack Scogin Merrill Elam along with WSA Studio from Columbus. The Hall is home to the KSA Café, the disciplines of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, City and Regional Planning, and about 550 undergraduate and graduate students. Knowlton Hall stands out from the general reddish-brown brick of Ohio State's campus with distinctive white marble tiles that cover the building's exterior. This unique wall cladding was requested by Austin E. Knowlton, the namesake of and main patron to the creation of Knowlton Hall. Knowlton also requested that five white marble columns be erected on the site, each column representing one of the classical orders of Architecture.

The Ohio State College of Medicine is on the southern edge of the central campus. It is home to the James Cancer Hospital, a cancer research institute and one of the National Cancer Institute's 41 comprehensive cancer centers, along with the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, a research institute for cardiovascular disease.

The campus is served by the Campus Area Bus Service.

Regional campuses

The university also operates regional campuses in five areas:

* Ohio State University at Lima – Lima, Ohio, established in 1960
* Ohio State University at Mansfield – Mansfield, Ohio, established in 1958
* Ohio State University at Marion – Marion, Ohio, established in 1957
* Ohio State University at Newark – Newark, Ohio, established in 1957
* Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) – Wooster, Ohio, established in 1969

Academics

Rankings and recognition

'' The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities'' (2000) by Howard and Matthew Greene listed Ohio State as one of a select number of public universities offering the highest educational quality. In its 2021 edition, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Ohio State as tied for the 17th-best public university in the United States, and tied for 53rd among all national universities. They ranked the college's political science, audiology, sociology, speech–language pathology, finance, accounting, public affairs, nursing, social work, healthcare administration and pharmacy programs as among the top 20 programs in the country. The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' placed Ohio State 42–56 nationally and 101–150 globally for 2020. In its 2021 rankings, ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' ranked it tied for 80th in the world. In 2021, ''QS World University Rankings'' ranked the university 108th in the world. The ''Washington Monthly'' college rankings, which seek to evaluate colleges' contributions to American society based on factors of social mobility, research and service to the country by their graduates, placed Ohio State 98th among national universities in 2020.

In 1916, Ohio State became the first university in Ohio to be extended membership into the Association of American Universities, and remains the only public university in Ohio among the organization's 60 members. Ohio State is also the only public university in Ohio to be classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity" and have its undergraduate admissions classified as "more selective."

Ohio State's political science program is ranked among the top programs globally. Considered to be one of the leading departments in the United States, it has played a particularly significant role in the construction and development of the constructivist and realist schools of international relations. Notable political scientists who have worked at the university include Alexander Wendt, John Mueller, Randall Schweller, Gene Sharp and Herb Asher. In 2004, it was ranked as first among public institutions and fourth overall in the world by British political scientist Simon Hix at the London School of Economics and Political Science, while a 2007 study in the academic journal ''PS: Political Science & Politics'' ranked it ninth in the United States. It is a leading producer of Fulbright Scholars.

''Bloomberg Businessweek'' ranked the undergraduate business program at Ohio State's Fisher College of Business as the 14th best in the nation in its 2016 rankings. ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranks the MBA program tied for 30th in America. Fisher's Executive MBA program was ranked third nationally for return on investment by ''The Wall Street Journal'' in 2008, citing a 170 percent return on an average of $66,900 invested in tuition and expenses during the 18-month program.

The Ohio State linguistics department was recently ranked among the top 10 programs nationally, and top 20 internationally by ''QS World University Rankings''.

The college is the only school in North America that offers an ABET-accredited welding engineering undergraduate degree.

Research

Ohio State's research expenditures for the 2019 fiscal year were $968.3 million. The university is among the top 12 U.S. public research universities and third among all universities in industry-sponsored research (National Science Foundation).
It is also named as one of the most innovative universities in the nation ( U.S. News & World Report) and in the world (Reuters). In a 2007 report released by the National Science Foundation, Ohio State's research expenditures for 2006 were $652 million, placing it seventh among public universities and 11th overall, also ranking third among all American universities for private industry-sponsored research. Research expenditures at Ohio State were $864 million in 2017. In 2006, Ohio State announced it would designate at least $110 million of its research efforts toward what it termed "fundamental concerns" such as research toward a cure for cancer, renewable energy sources and sustainable drinking water supplies. In 2021, President Kristina M. Johnson announced the university would invest at least $750 million over the next 10 years toward research and researchers. This was announced in conjunction with Ohio State's new Innovation District, which will be an interdisciplinary research facility and act as a hub for healthcare and technology research, serving Ohio State faculty and students as well as public and private partners. Construction is expected to be completed in 2023.

Research facilities include Aeronautical/Astronautical Research Laboratory, Byrd Polar Research Center, Center for Automotive Research (OSU CAR), Chadwick Arboretum, Biomedical Research Tower, Biological Sciences Building, CDME, Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Heart and Lung Research Institute, Electroscience Laboratory, Large Binocular Telescope (''LBT'', originally named the Columbus Project), Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Museum of Biological Diversity, National Center for the Middle Market, Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island, OH, Center for Urban and Regional Analysis and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

Admissions and tuition

Undergraduate

Ohio State is considered a highly selective public university. Undergraduate admissions selectivity to Ohio State is rated as 91/99 by ''The'' ''Princeton Review'' (meaning "highly selective") and "more selective" by '' U.S. News & World Report''; according to the data, it's the most selective for any public university in the state of Ohio. ''The New York Times'' classifies Ohio State as a "highly selective public college."

For the Class of 2025 (enrolled fall 2021), Ohio State received 58,180 applications and accepted 33,269 (57.2%). Of those accepted, 8,423 enrolled, a yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend the university) of 25.3%. OSU's freshman retention rate is 93.9%, with 88% going on to graduate within six years.

Of the 21% of the incoming freshman class who submitted SAT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite scores were 1260-1420. Of the 64% of enrolled freshmen in 2021 who submitted ACT scores; the middle 50 percent Composite score was between 26 and 32. In the 2020–2021 academic year, 26 freshman students were National Merit Scholars.

Tuition and fees for full-time, Ohio residents enrolled at the Columbus campus for the 2014–2015 academic year were $10,037. For the 2006–2007 academic year, tuition at Ohio State for Ohio residents placed it as the fifth-most expensive public university and slightly beneath the weighted average tuition of $8,553 among Ohio's thirteen public four-year universities.

Honors programs

Ohio State offers two distinct honors programs for high-ability undergraduates: Honors and Scholars. The Honors program is open to students in all majors. The Scholars program is centered on 13 specific programs such as "Architecture Scholars," "Media, Marketing, and Communications Scholars," "Biological Sciences Scholars," "International Affairs Scholars," "Business Scholars" and "Politics, Society and Law Scholars." Students in the Scholars program are expected to live and take select classes with other members of the program. Additionally, Ohio State offers the Honors Collegium with membership extended to 10 incoming freshmen and following the spring of a student's first or second year to the university's top undergraduates. Collegium students try to compete for internships, graduate schools and nationally competitive awards, such as the Marshall, Rhodes or Truman Scholarships.

Ohio State also administers two large-scale scholarship programs to ensure access to the university to high-ability students from low-income

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