Introduction
Composite photograph: The left side of the image shows the original University Hall building, 1878, and the right side shows the current University Hall, 2019
At 150 years, the history of The Ohio State University seems inevitable. It seems guaranteed that the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College would be built in Columbus. It seems given that generations of individuals would come to study here from around Ohio, the nation and the world. However, throughout the university’s founding and history there have been challenges that threatened its very existence. It is only thanks to many individuals and their dedication to the university’s motto of “education for citizenship” that the university has survived.
Ohio State’s history has been cyclical in some ways — going from semesters to quarters to semesters again — and linear in others. While many buildings and departments have survived, others have come and gone. Although Ohio State should hold on to pieces of its past, it cannot stay the same. It would be inconceivable to go back to Ohio Field, to a Dean of Women or to a one-story library. As we celebrate the university’s “time and change,” we remember the university’s past, celebrate its present and envision its future.
