Ohio Northern University

Ohio Northern University

Motto	“Ex diversitate vires" (out of diversity strength)
Type	Private
Established	1871
Affiliation	United Methodist Church
President	Daniel A. DiBiasio
Provost	Maria L. Cronley[1]
Academic staff	654[1]
Students	3,088 (2017)
Undergraduates	2,900 (2017)
Location	Ada, Ohio, U.S.
Campus	Rural
Latin motto	"Ex Diversitate Vires"
Colors	Orange, Black, White
Nickname	Polar Bears
Mascot	Klondike
Website	www.onu.edu

Ohio Northern University is a private, United Methodist Church–affiliated university in Ada, Ohio. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Early years
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 Post-war education boom
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Recent growth
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 Technology growth
    
  
  
  • 
    1.5 ONU in the 21st Century
    
    
    
    • 
      1.5.1 Environmental efforts
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Academic programs
  


• 
  3 Athletics
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 National honors
    
    
    
    • 
      3.1.1 NCAA Championship
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.2 NCAA Runner-up finishes
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.3 NCAA Final Four appearances
      
    
    
    • 
      3.1.4 Club Sport Championship
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Notable alumni
  


• 
  5 References
  


• 
  6 External links
  

History

Early years

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 affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

The Music Department of Ohio Northern University, with Administration buildings in the background.

Post-war education boom

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

Throughout the 1960s, a number of ONU students and faculty/staff participated in the American Civil Rights Movement. ONU hosted Dr. Martin Luther King on January 11, 1968, four days before his 39th birthday and just three months before his assassination.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

ONU honored Dr. King and his speech on campus with the unveiling of a statue in his likeness on April 17, 2018.
^[6][7]

Undergraduate student housing, Ohio Northern University.

Recent growth

Entrance to ONU College of Law at night

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, which contains over 70 deluxe guestrooms.^[8] In 2017, construction on a new engineering building will begin, with the first classes to be held in fall 2019.

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.

ONU in the 21st Century

Ohio Northern is ranked fourth among midwest regional liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. It is considered "more selective," with an acceptance rate of 68%.^[9] It has a 53% 4-year graduation rate.^[10]

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]

Environmental efforts

Ohio Northern has made several significant strides in sustainability, and currently is making considerable efforts to realize the full benefits of a comprehensive approach in several areas of sustainability, alternative energy and environmental stewardship.

• Three wind turbines generate 400 kilowatts of power to meet 8-9 percent of the University’s electricity needs.


• A solar array field generates about 10 percent of ONU’s annual electricity needs, reducing ONU’s carbon footprint by over 2,200 tons, equal to 210 average households.


• Geothermal technology is used for heating and cooling in the housing units.


• Ohio Northern University is a 100 percent tobacco-free campus.


• Recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation.


• Electric vehicle charging stations have been installed on campus.


• A grassy area surrounding a retention basin has been transformed into a prairie area featuring natural vegetation with a focus on providing a perfect habitat for bees.


• The Affinity Gardens project has transformed the green space of the residence community.

Academic programs

McIntosh Center, the Student Center of Ohio Northern University.

The university comprises five colleges:

• Getty College of Arts and Sciences


• James F. Dicke College of Business Administration


• T.J. Smull College of Engineering


• Rudolph H. Raabe College of Pharmacy


• 
  Claude W. Pettit College of Law (established 1885)

Prior to 1973, the law school was known as "the Warren G. Harding College of Law". It was renamed in honor of Claude W. Pettit, a judge and former dean of the college.^[12]

Athletics

ONU students participate in intercollegiate, intramural, and sports clubs in a variety of sports. The ONU Polar Bears compete in the NCAA 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.

• 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 women's volleyball team had a NCAA All-Divisions record 36 consecutive winning

Men's Sports Baseball Basketball Cross country Football Golf Lacrosse Soccer Swimming Tennis Track & field Wrestling

Women's Sports Basketball Cross country Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Swimming Tennis Track & field Volleyball

National honors

NCAA Championship

• 1993 Men's Basketball NCAA Division III Champions^[15]
  

NCAA Runner-up finishes

• 1989 Women's Volleyball NCAA Division III Runners-up^[16]
  


• 2012 Men's Soccer NCAA Division III Runners-up^[17]
  

NCAA Final Four appearances

• 2001 Men's Basketball NCAA Division III Final Four^[18]
  


• 2008 Women's Volleyball NCAA Division III Final Four^[19]
  

NCAA Elite Eight appearance

• 2017 Women's Basketball

NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances

• 1999 Football


• 2000 Football


• 2010 Football


• 2015 Football


• 2017 Women's Basketball

Club Sport Championship

• 2007 Men's Volleyball NIRSA Division II National Champions^[20]
  

Notable alumni

• 
  Anthony A. Alaimo, jurist
  


• 
  Frank T. Bow, jurist and politician who was honored by naming the Frank T. Bow Federal Building in Canton, Ohio.


• 
  James Cloyd Bowman, a children's book author who received a Newbery Honor in 1938 for Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time.


• 
  Benjamin Brafman, a prominent criminal defense attorney based in New York.^[21][22]
  


• 
  William J. Brown, former Ohio Attorney General (1971–1983).^[23]
  


• 
  George Washington Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic and inventor of the system for blood transfusion.


• 
  Robert R. Cupp, Ohio Supreme Court Justice.


• 
  Mike DeWine, a politician who has been elected Governor of Ohio in 2018. Served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio between 1995 and 2007.^[24] and is currently the Ohio Attorney General
  


• 
  Simeon Davison Fess, a Republican politician a former president of Antioch College.


• 
  George Getty, American lawyer, father of industrialist J. Paul Getty and patriarch of the Getty family.


• 
  John W. Grabiel, Arkansas Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1922 and 1924; Ohio native, attorney in Fayetteville, Arkansas, until his death in 1928^[25]
  


• 
  Stacey Hairston, former Cleveland Browns player.


• 
  Thomas Hutson, doctor and medical researcher.


• 
  Robert Franklin Jones, graduated with a law degree. Served as Allen County (Ohio) prosecuting attorney, 1935 - 1939. Elected in 1938 to the Seventy-sixth U.S. Congress, and elected for three subsequent terms to Congress, serving from 1939 - 1947. Appointed Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, serving from 1947 - 1952.


• 
  J.E. Keeny, studied music at Ohio Northern. Served as president of Louisiana Tech University, 1908-1926^[26]
  


• 
  George E. Killian, a sports administrator and a president of the International University Sports Federation.


• 
  Cassius Jackson Keyser, a mathematician.


• 
  Carla F. Kim, Associate Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Principal Investigator at the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children's Hospital
  


• George Lonz, vintner who operated the Lonz Winery, one of the largest wineries following prohibition. ^[27]
  


• 
  Cheryl L. Mason — Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals, US Department of Veterans’ Affairs (first woman appointed to the position)


• 
  Clay Mathile, former owner of Iams pet food.


• 
  Harry McNeal, Major League baseball player


• 
  Bill Peterson, former head football coach at Florida State, Rice University, and with the Houston Oilers.


• 
  Bob Peterson, story artist, animator and voice actor.


• 
  Joseph Banks Rhine, founder of the parapsychology lab at Duke University
  


• 
  Nate Riles, Retired CFL player


• 
  Jamal Robertson, Retired NFL football player.


• 
  Ralph L. Ropp (Class of 1923), president of Louisiana Tech University from 1949 to 1962


• 
  Baldemar Velasquez, is president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO.


• 
  Jason Trusnik, Retired NFL football player. Owner of Pro Sports Performance in Strongsville, OH


• 
  Steve Vagedes, former Arena Football League player


• 
  Jim Wilson (Los Angeles), city council member, studied pharmacy

References

1. 
   ^ ^ab "Just the Facts". onu.edu. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ As of 2016."U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2013 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2012 to FY 2013" (PDF). 2013 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-19. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
   


3. 
   ^ Digital Repository of Dr. King's visit to ONU, including original audio file, press releases, and transcript of his speech. Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
   


4. 
   ^ Publications, Eight Cities Media &. "Dr King's Message for Today". Retrieved 18 February 2017.
   


5. 
   ^ http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/home/pages?page=http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/publications/inventory/inv_11.htm Stanford University, Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute - Inventory of Dr. King's Speeches in 1968
   


6. 
   ^ "MLK statue to be dedicated at ONU - The Lima News". 13 April 2018.
   


7. 
   ^ "Statue commemorates MLK's 1968 speech".
   


8. 
   ^ "The Inn at Ohio Northern University". Retrieved July 6, 2010.
   


9. 
   ^ "U.S. News Rankings". Retrieved 2015-02-26.
   


10. 
    ^ "U.S. News Rankings".
    


11. 
    ^ "New ONU leader deals with funding, future issues". Toledo Blade. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
    


12. 
    ^ "History of the ONU Pettit College of Law". Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. Retrieved 21 August 2006.
    


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". 2005-10-24. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
    


15. 
    ^ D3hoops.com: 1993 Men's NCAA Tournament Results Archived October 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
    


16. 
    ^ "Athletics | Ohio Northern University" (PDF). onusports.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
    


17. 
    ^ "Season Review: Men's Soccer caps off record breaking season with run to NCAA III Tournament Championship". Onusports.com. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
    


18. 
    ^ The 2001 Division III men's tournament Archived October 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
    


19. 
    ^ "Ohio Northern University". Retrieved 18 February 2017.
    


20. 
    ^ http://www.onu.edu/org/mensvb/ Archived January 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
    


21. 
    ^ "Little Big Man". Retrieved 18 February 2017.
    


22. 
    ^ 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
    


23. 
    ^ "Ohio Attorney General - William J. Brown". Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
    


24. 
    ^ "Mike DeWine - Congresspedia". sourcewatch.org. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
    


25. 
    ^ "John W. Grabiel". ebooksread.com. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
    


26. 
    ^ "Keeny, John Ephraim". Louisiana Historical Association, A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
    


27. 
    ^ "Lake Erie Islanders - Peter F. Lonz (and George Lonz)". www.middlebass2.org.
    

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article Ohio Northern University.

• Official website

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

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v t e Midwestern Undergraduate Private Engineering Colleges
Cedarville University Indiana Institute of Technology Kettering University Lawrence Technological University Milwaukee School of Engineering Ohio Northern University Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Saint Louis University Trine University University of Detroit Mercy University of Evansville Valparaiso University

Coordinates: 40°46′01″N 83°49′30″W / 40.7669°N 83.8249°W / 40.7669; -83.8249

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