From Woody's Couch

The final installment of our regional campus series is this brief look at the Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute at Wooster, better known as OSU ATI.

OSU ATI, established in 1969, was the last of the regional campuses and the most specific with regard to its mission. It was designed to be the unit of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) that would grant Associate degrees and provide comprehensive agricultural education through a statewide mandate. The first classes took place in 1972 with 197 students enrolled in the campus’s first autumn quarter.

Until 1996 and the establishment of Associate of Science degrees, OSU ATI only offered Associate of Applied Science degrees, designed to prepare the student to enter an agricultural trade immediately after graduation. This new degree allowed students at ATI to transition directly to CFAES in Columbus.

Today, OSU ATI continues to offer Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates to students looking to pursue an agriculturally-minded career.

Fun facts: in 1985, OSU ATI had the only program facility for bee teaching and applied research in the United States, and Ohio at the time had around 10,000 beekeepers, more than any other state. In this same vein, it also had the only program in the United States that granted degrees in beekeeping. In 1993, ATI sent more than 40 students down to Florida to aid victims of the recent Hurricane Andrew. Students earned 3 credit hours for the trip and while there, lodged in tents and dormitories provided by People Helping People.

Written by Hannah Nelson.

Fourth up in our tour of Ohio State’s regional campuses is OSU Lima. Located in western Ohio, near the almost 200 acres of the Tecumseh Natural Area, this fourth addition to the OSU regional campus family was approved by the Board of Trustees in early April of 1960.

When it opened, Lima offered classes primarily to high school students and operated out of Lima Senior High School, mainly as a night school. It opened for its first Autumn Quarter on September 26, 1960. The first building on the campus was completed in 1966 and included offices, classrooms and a library. The second building followed shortly after, opening in 1968. This building included more offices, a workroom and a cafeteria. By its 25^th anniversary in 1985, OSU Lima had seen almost 40,000 students.

Today, OSU Lima offers 12 Bachelor’s programs in subjects from biology to theatre and provides plenty of general education requirements to students who plant to go on to the Columbus campus to finish their degree.

Fun facts: In April of 1987, the Lima Campus hosted the Great Black Swamp Dulcimer Festival, an event wherein dulcimer musicians would gather to make music and socialize with one another. According to a 1987 Lantern article, some professors would take a small private airplane owned by Ohio State to commute from Columbus to Lima. The service started in 1961 and included a 25-minute flight.

Written by Hannah Nelson.

Third in our series on the regional campuses of Ohio State is OSU Mansfield, the third branch campus to be established after the first two, Marion and Newark.

Approved in March of 1958, the Mansfield branch soon after began to offer classes in a local high school to allow students to complete their first two years of college coursework. This first year, Mansfield opened with a total of 145 students. This number more than doubled by 1963, when they had 381 students. Soon after, Mansfield opened its first building, Ovalwood Hall, in 1966.

Today, Mansfield offers ten different Bachelor’s programs along with plenty of general education requirements that students can complete before transitioning to the Columbus campus.

Fun facts: in 1965, Mansfield began to construct a geodetic baseline device that would provide the most precise distance measurements in North America upon its completion. A nationally-recognized Frisbee team came to perform on campus on May 8, 1978, during the campus’s May Week activities. In 1989, Mansfield added a new WOSU station, becoming the first place to add a new station for WOSU in 40 years. This station played classical music 24/7 and was approved after the FCC relaxed its regulations regarding overcrowding on public broadcasting frequencies in 1985.

Written by Hannah Nelson.