This blog was originally conceived to document Ohio State campus architecture. Although not as architecturally significant as older or more prominent schools, it has a wide array of buildings from different eras. You can see how my writing and photography skills developed over time.
The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as Ohio Agricultural & Mechanical College, spurred by the Morrill Act's land-grant system. Its first classes were held in 1873 and the first graduating class was in 1878, when "Ohio A&M"'s name was changed to "The Ohio State University" as we know it today. Also in 1878, the university voted to expand their purview to liberal arts and sciences. Ohio State struggled at first due to hostility from farmers, Miami University, and Ohio University. However, Rutherford B. Hayes used his influence as a former president and politician in favor of Ohio State's interests.
Ohio State's influence began to grow in the following decades, as it began to admit graduate students in the 1880s and founded various new schools, such as Law and Medicine. The Eagleson Bill championed by William Oxley Thompson in 1906 established that Ohio State would be the only university in Ohio that could award doctorates or perform research. In 1916, OSU became a member of the Association of American Universities.
Ohio governor Harry Davis established a university building fund in 1921 that financed the construction of many new campus buildings, which had the effect of increasing enrollment to about 15,000 students by 1929. The Great Depression obviously affected budgetary and enrollment issues, but the college was able to rebound by the end of the 1930s.
Ohio State's enrollment surged after World War II, when the GI Bill allowed returning WWII veterans to attend college at a cheaper rate. The university had open enrollment until the 1980s, but admission has since become much more selective. Ohio State is one of the largest colleges in the United States, is considered a "public Ivy," and today it is considered one of the best public universities in America.