Ohio Northern University

An Ohio historical marker outlining the university's history

Henry Solomon Lehr founded the Northwestern Ohio Normal School in August 1871. When the college's curriculum grew to include pharmacy, engineering, law and business programs, its name was changed to Ohio Normal University and, eventually, in 1903, Ohio Northern University. In 1899, the university became affiliated with the United Methodist Church as a method to reduce debt.[3]

Photo of Martin Luther King Jr. statue at Ohio Northern University

Before the Great Depression, more than one thousand students were typically enrolled at Ohio Northern every year. Both the Great Depression and the following second World War plunged the school into low enrollment, and the possibility of closure was considered. During World War II, enrollment reached a low of 156 students. Thanks to the G.I. Bill, Ohio Northern was able to bring enrollment back up to nine hundred students by 1946.

Throughout the 1960s, a number of ONU students and faculty/staff participated in the American Civil Rights Movement. ONU hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on January 11, 1968, four days before his 39th birthday and just three months before his assassination.[4] During his visit at ONU, Dr. King famously spoke regarding the myth that many immigrant and/or ethnic groups successfully pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, whereas African Americans were incapable of doing so.[5][6]

ONU honored Dr. King and his speech on campus with the unveiling of a statue in his likeness on April 17, 2018. [7][8]

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, the Dial-Roberson Stadium and the Mathile Center for the Natural Sciences. In 2008, Ohio Northern University built and opened The Inn at Ohio Northern University.[9] A new engineering building was opened in October 2019.[10]

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.

On February 4, 2010, ONU announced that its board of trustees approved the nomination of Daniel A. DiBiasio, president of Wilmington College to become the new president of Ohio Northern. DiBiasio assumed his duties on August 1, 2011.[11] US News & World Report ranks Ohio Northern as #3 in Best Colleges - Regional Colleges Midwest, and #4 in Best Value Schools.[12]

• 1993 Men's Basketball NCAA Division III Champions[16]

• 1989 Women's Volleyball NCAA Division III Runners-up[17]
• 2012 Men's Soccer NCAA Division III Runners-up[18]

• 2001 Men's Basketball NCAA Division III Final Four[19]
• 2008 Women's Volleyball NCAA Division III Final Four[20]

NCAA Elite Eight appearance

• 2017 Women's Basketball

NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances

• 1999 Football
• 2000 Football
• 2010 Football
• 2015 Football
• 2019 Women's Soccer

• 2007 Men's Volleyball NIRSA Division II National Champions[21]