William Oxley Thompson referees Cane Rush, 1921

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The library was named after William Oxley Thompson in 1951 when the stacks tower opened. Thompson was OSU’s longest-serving president (1899-1925) and was beloved by the students. Twenty years before the library was re-named for him, the classes of 1923, 1925, 1926, and 1928 raised money to build a “life-size” statue of OSU’s longest-serving president because of their admiration for him. The statue was was erected in 1931.