List of Presidents of Ohio State University
This List of Presidents of Ohio State University includes all who have served as university presidents of Ohio State University since its founding in 1870. Ohio State University is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870, as a land-grant university and ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862, the university was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1878, in light of its expanded focus, the college permanently changed its name to The Ohio State University.
History of Ohio University
Public support for higher education in America was not new when Manasseh Cutler first decided to organize an expedition bound for the Ohio country. Ohio University would become the first legislated public university due to passage of the Northwest Ordinance, which had explicitly included funding for higher education. On March 1, 1786, Cutler had attended a meeting at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston with Massachusetts delegates to form an association to purchase lands from Congress.