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 State University
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 Miami and Ohio University. Although the Lybarger Bill failed narrowly to gain passage, in its place was passed the compromise Eagleson Bill, which determined that all doctoral education and research functions would be the role of Ohio State and that the two older institutions would not offer instruction beyond the master's degree level. This arrangement would stand for the next fifty years until population growth had necessitated additional Ph. D programs in the state.