From Woody's Couch

Commencement group marching from the Library to University Hall Chapel, August 31, 1923

When OSU’s first commencement ceremony was held in 1878, the University was on a semester system; the now-familiar four-quarter plan was not established until 1923. Talk of switching started during World War I when, in May 1918, the faculty voted at their regular meeting to urge the Board of Trustees to switch to quarters, saying such a move would improve the education for students. After an investigation into the matter, the Board made plans to switch the calendar to quarters in 1921. The plan was ultimately pushed back another year, and the first graduation on the quarter schedule was held on August 31, 1923.

Some facts about that first graduation:

Date of first academic-quarter commencement: August 31, 1923

Location: University Hall chapel

Number of degrees conferred: 151

President: William Oxley Thompson

Commencement speaker: Max Carl Otto, Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin

Tuition paid that spring: $20

Examples of classes taken that spring: Hygiene; Pathogenic Protozoa; The Library and the School; Household Mechanics; Railroad Surveying; American Diplomacy since the Civil War (all 58 years of it) and oddly enough, Swedish Gymnastics

To all of the graduates of this year’s 400^th and final academic-quarter Commencement, congratulations!