The Ohio State University at Marion opened in 1957 after a major initiative to increase satellite locations of Ohio State University in Ohio. In 1964, the Ohio State University made an agreement with the Marion Public Library to “provide library resources and services necessary to administer the purchase of a limited number of books” for students enrolled at the Marion branch. Marion broke ground for a new building to be constructed on the branch campus; the ground-breaking was performed by then-governor James Rhodes. Both Marion and Newark branches were the first regional campuses established for Ohio State; however, the Marion campus was the last to become a permanent regional campus of Ohio State. The Marion campus offered a two-year program for four-year students, which allowed them to complete their freshman and sophomore years at the Marion campus, and then transfer down to Ohio State’s main campus in Columbus. In 1979, the Marion campus offered its first associate degree program, which allowed students to graduate with an Associate of Arts degree. The first Associate of Arts degree students, totalling fourteen, graduated from the Marion campus in 1981. In 1985, Ohio State Marion began a program to educate inmates at the Marion Correctional Institute, which was seen as a major success for the Marion campus. That same year, the Marion branch underwent an initiative to expand campus, which allowed construction of a $2.2 million structure to begin. The structure would house a gymnasium, cafeteria, student activity rooms, classrooms, and offices. The construction of the center finished in 1986. In 1987, the Marion branch received a grant to provide workshops for adults returning to college. A cost-share agreement between the Ohio State University Marion Campus and the Marion Technical College began in 1987, which allowed the two colleges to share one campus and alleviate some of the expenses required to run a campus. In 1994, the Marion branch established its own Board of Trustees for the campus, which allowed dissension from the Board of Trustees of the main campus in Columbus. In 2017, the Marion campus began construction for a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field education center, which provides students with updated laboratories, research centers, and classrooms. Out of over 66,000 students enrolled at Ohio State, about 3,000 attend the Marion campus, according to the Ohio State University Statistical Summary released in the autumn of 2016.