The Ohio State University established a branch location in Newark, Ohio, after a major initiative to expand and open different satellite locations across the state. The Newark campus opened in the autumn of 1957. A ground-breaking ceremony occurred at Newark in 1966 by then-governor James Rhodes, which symbolized the establishment of the Newark campus building. The building included twenty-three classrooms, three lecture halls, laboratories, conference rooms, a cafeteria, offices, a bookstore, and study areas. Construction of the building, Founders’ Hall, finished in 1969. In September of 1975, the Newark campus closed for a few days due to a water main break, which tainted the campus’ water supply. Ultimately, the branch reopened within a few days, but restricted water usage. Later in 1975, the Newark branch received a trust fund worth $200,000, which supplied scholarships to economically disadvantaged students enrolled at Ohio State. Upon receiving the fund, the Newark campus also initiated an education program for adults who did not graduate from high school. The Newark campus offered a program for prospective students to receive an Associate of Arts degree, beginning in 1984. In October of 1984, during construction on the Newark campus, workers accidentally destroyed Native American campsites, in which the artifacts and sites dated back to 1,400 to 2,000 years. The campus excavated the land for remaining artifacts in the area, then turned them over to researchers. An initiative to double student enrollment at Newark, along with the Mansfield and Marion campuses, began in 1987, which also initiated an increase in funding and campus construction projects. Although the increase was planned as a 25-year initiative, the Newark campus faced a shortage of space for enrolled students in 1989. In 1991, Newark began planning to construct a $6.4 million Technical and Performing Arts Center, which finished construction in 1992. The building’s name, LeFevre Hall, after Howard E. LeFevre, a large supporter and donor of the Newark campus. In 1993, Ohio State Newark proposed to merge the college with the Central Ohio Technical College, but the initiative to create a community college was ultimately rejected. In 1994, Ohio State Newark established its own Board of Trustees, which acted as a separate body from the Board of Trustees located on Ohio State’s main campus location. In 2017, Newark began an initiative to increase on-campus housing for students attending the campus. Out of over 66,000 students enrolled at Ohio State, about 2,000 are enrolled at Newark, according to the Ohio State University Statistical Summary, published in autumn of 2016.