Ohio Northern University

All you want to know about Ohio Northern University

Ohio Northern University
Image:Ohionorthern.JPG
Established: 1871
Type: Private
Endowment: $174,016,794
President: Kendall Baker, Ph.D
Faculty: 207
Students: 3,721 (2008)
Undergraduates: 3,290 (2007)
Location: Ada, Ohio, USA
Campus: Rural
Latin motto: "Ex Diversitate Vires"
Colors: Orange, Black, White
Nickname: Polar Bears
Mascot: Klondike
Affiliations: United Methodist Church
Website: http://www.onu.edu/

Ohio Northern University is a private, United Methodist Church-affiliated university located in the United States in Ada, Ohio, founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871. ONU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. ONU is a sister university with Dankook University, a private university in Seoul, South Korea.

Academic programs

The university comprises five colleges:

Prior to 1973, the law school was known as "the Warren G. Harding College of Law".[1] It was renamed in honor of Claude W. Pettit, a judge and former dean of the college.[2]

History

Early years

Henry Solomon Lehr, a former soldier in the American Civil War, became the schoolmaster for the Ada public school in 1866. Lehr began offering additional courses in the evenings to motivated students to cover topics beyond the standard curriculum. After five years, he approached the town about starting a university. In August 1871, the Northwestern Ohio Normal School started with nearly 150 students attending classes in downtown stores and local churches until the first classroom building was completed in October.

Lehr built the university from the ground up, and was involved in all activities from building construction to faculty selection and curriculum design. Like most of the schools in the post-civil war period, the school’s focus was on preparing public school teachers. However, by the mid-1880s, the school’s curriculum had expanded to include programs in pharmacy, engineering, law, and business. In 1885, the school trustees changed the name to Ohio Normal University to reflect the expanded scope.

President Lehr’s educational philosophy formed through his own educational experiences, and emphasized low tuition, flexible schedule and curriculum, and allowed women as both students and faculty. To secure the school’s future, Lehr tried to secure state support for the school, but when that failed, he arranged to sell the school to the United Methodist Church. When the transfer was completed in 1899, he was succeeded by Dr. Leroy Belt in 1900, and then by Dr. Albert Edwin Smith in 1905.

Growth and struggle

Between 1900 and 1930, the school grew and underwent an administrative reorganization. During this time, the name changed for the last time, taking the name Ohio Northern University. A medical school and agriculture school were attempted but failed to develop. As high schools became more common in Ohio, ONU closed its preparatory program that had allowed students to prepare for the university. Dr. Smith traveled extensively on behalf of the school, and secured financing of nearly $500,000 for the first endowment fund. Fraternities continued to make a presence on the campus, and Smith fought to maintain the student code which forbids smoking and drinking.

During the Great Depression and World War II, the school struggled as student enrollment dropped as a reflection of the economic times. Dr. Robert Williams introduced efficiency measures by reducing the administrative staff and combining academic programs into colleges. During the war years, the university participated in government programs supporting the Army Air Corps and Navy. In the 1940s, both the yearbook and student newspaper ceased publication, a classroom building closed, and intercollegiate sports were temporarily suspended. President McClure served his first year without pay and many of the faculty went unpaid or on reduce salaries.

Post-war education boom

In 1944, the G.I. Bill promised to bring servicemen to universities across the country, and ONU received an influx of students starting in the fall of 1945 which continued for several years, straining the local housing market and forcing the university, under the leadership of Dr. Robert McClure, to add trailers and student dormitories. By 1949, Dr. F. Bringle McIntosh shifted the school’s focus from survival to enhancing academic programs and securing accreditation. During the following years, individual programs were accredited and in 1958 the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited the undergraduate program.

Under Dr. Samuel Lewis Meyer and Dr. Ray B. Loeschner, the university continued to grow its campus and its curriculum, enjoying financial stability from the steadily increasing enrollment. In the 1970s, new buildings included the Heterick Memorial Library, the Tilton College of Law and Taggart Law Library, the Wesley Center, the Young Building for Philosophy and Religion, the Biggs Engineering Building, the King-Horn Convocation Center, ONU Sports Center, Park Hall, two McIntosh extensions, along with refurbishing the Taft Building, the Wilson Art Center, and the Meyer Hall of Science. Five national honorary societies established chapters on campus, student organizations grew, and intercollegiate athletic teams expanded.

Recent growth

Growth continued under Dr. DeBow Freed through the 1980s and 1990s with additions to the Taggart Law Library, Presser Hall, Dukes Memorial, Wilson Art Building, Biggs Engineering, Heterick Memorial Library, and Meyer Hall of Science, and the construction of the Freed Center for the Performing Arts and a new president’s on-campus home. Under Dr. Kendall Baker, campus additions include Dicke Hall, an expansion of the Robertson-Evans Pharmacy building, and the Dial-Roberson Stadium. Current construction projects include a new on-campus inn near McIntosh Center, the Mathile Center for the Natural Sciences annex connecting Meyer Hall of Science with the Pharmacy building, a renovation of the university-run Northern on Main, and a comprehensive renovation of all on-campus housing.

Technology growth

Starting in the early 1980s, the university provided computer services to a growing segment of the university’s population, expanding from a centralized mainframe to networked personal computers and a computer network. ONU joined OhioLINK and technology revolutionized academic administrative activities and supported classroom activities. With the addition of the Internet, the university began offering its first distance learning courses in the pharmacy program. Today, there are over 1,200 networked computers and Internet access on campus.

Athletics

Joe Banks, Ohio Northern graduate and coach

ONU students participate in intercollegiate, intramural, and sports clubs in a variety of sports. The ONU Polar Bears compete in the Division III Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The men's volleyball team participates in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association in the Great Midwest Men's Volleyball Conference.

Men’s intercollegiate teams

Women’s intercollegiate teams

National Honors

Notable alumni

Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2008)
  • The school mascot is a polar bear named Klondike.[13]
  • The ONU varsity football team defeated Mount Union College in 2005 to snap the Purple Raiders 110-game regular season winning streak.[14]
  • The ONU varsity men's swim team won their third straight OAC Conference Championship in 2007.[15]
  • In 2008, US News & World Report listed Ohio Northern as the second-best comprehensive college[16] in the Midwest.
  • The first house built specifically for fraternity in Ohio use was built by Ohio Alpha chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. The chapter currently still resides in the house.[citation needed]
  • In 2007, the family of James Dicke donated 12 bronze statues to the school. The statues represent the Western theme (cowboys and Indians). Select statues were recreations of Remington artwork.
  • In May 2008, the university awarded a "Bachelor's of Science in Canine Companionship" to Zeeke, a golden retriever that had been trained for Canine Companions for Independence by a biology major for her senior honors project.[17][18]
  • In 2008, Ohio Northern University built and opened The Inn at Ohio Northern University, which contains over 70 deluxe guestrooms.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Ohio Northern University at universities.com". Retrieved on 21 August, 2006.
  2. ^ "History of the ONU Pettit College of Law". Retrieved on 21 August, 2006.
  3. ^ D3hoops.com: 1993 Men's NCAA Tournament Results
  4. ^ The 2001 Division III men's tournament
  5. ^ http://www.onusports.com/Mediacenter/2007vb.pdf
  6. ^ Little Big Man
  7. ^ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/benjamin_brafman/index.html],[http://asp.usatoday.com/community/tags/topic.aspx?req=tag&tag=Benjamin%20Brafman
  8. ^ Benjamin Brafman
  9. ^ "Ohio Attorney General - William J. Brown". Retrieved on 27 August, 2008.
  10. ^ Mike DeWine - Congresspedia
  11. ^ http://onucdm.onu.edu:2005/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/ohionalum&CISOPTR=5779&CISOSHOW=5711&REC=4
  12. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945778-2,00.html
  13. ^ "Ohio Northern University Student Senate: " A New Bear in Town"".
  14. ^ "USA Today.com: Mount Union's 110-game regular season winning streak snapped".
  15. ^ "Ohio Northern wins third consecutive OAC Championships team title".
  16. ^ "America’s Best Colleges 2007:Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's (Midwest): Top Schools". Retrieved on January 1, 2007.
  17. ^ "Ohio Northern University awards bachelor's degree to canine". Retrieved on May18, 2008.
  18. ^ 13abc.com: Dog receives degree from Ohio Northern University 5/18/08
  19. ^ "The Inn at Ohio Northern University". Retrieved on August 25, 2008.

External links

v • d • e
Ohio Athletic Conference
v • d • e
International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Adrian • Alaska Pacific • Albion • Albright • Allegheny • American • Andrew • Baker • Baldwin-Wallace • Bennett • Bethune-Cookman • Birmingham-Southern • Boston University • Brevard • Centenary (Louisiana) • Centenary (New Jersey) • Central Methodist • Claflin • Clark Atlanta • Columbia College (South Carolina) • Cornell College • Dakota Wesleyan • Denver • DePauw • Dickinson College • Dillard • Drew • Duke • Emory • Emory & Henry • Evansville • Ferrum • Florida Southern • Green Mountain • Greensboro • Hamline • Hendrix • High Point • Hiwassee • Huntingdon • Huston-Tillotson • Illinois Wesleyan • Indianapolis • Iowa Wesleyan • Kansas Wesleyan • Kendall • Kentucky Wesleyan • LaGrange • Lambuth • Lebanon Valley • Lindsey Wilson • Lon Morris • Louisburg • Lycoming • MacMurray • Martin Methodist • McKendree • McMurry • Meharry Medical • Methodist • Millsaps • Morningside • Mount Union • Nebraska Methodist • Nebraska Wesleyan • North Carolina Wesleyan • North Central • Northwestern University • Ohio Northern • Ohio Wesleyan • Oklahoma City • Otterbein • Oxford of Emory • Pacific • Paine • Pfeiffer • Puget Sound • Philander Smith • Randolph • Randolph-Macon • Reinhardt • Rocky Mountain • Rust • Shenandoah • Simpson College • Southern Methodist • Southwestern College (Kansas) • Southwestern University • Spartanburg Methodist • Syracuse • Tennessee Wesleyan • Texas Wesleyan • Union (Kentucky) • Virginia Wesleyan • Wesley College (Delaware) • Wesleyan College • West Virginia Wesleyan • Wiley • Willamette • Wofford • Young Harris
v • d • e
Midwestern Undergraduate Private Engineering Colleges
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Northern_University"

No comments have been added.



Your name:

City:

Country:

Your comments:

Security check *
(Please enter the number into adjoining box)

 

  • Ads

           
eXTReMe Tracker