Ohio Northern University - Northern Yearbook (Ada, OH)

Page 15 text:

I f Music Was taught from the very beginning, the first instructor of music, Theodore Presser, later rose to unusual prominence in his field. Engineering was introduced but it Was not until the l89O's that it became officially separated from the general college. The Department of Law, in response to a demand from numerous students, was organized in 1885 by l. Rose Lee, a former graduate of the University who became the first Dean of this department. ,un :Q 2

Page 14 text:

The beloved founder of Ohio Northern University, Dr. 1-1. S. Lehr, was born at Weathersfield, Ohio, on March 8, 1838. He began his teaching career at the age of sixteen. In 1854 he entered Mount Union College where he later received an A.B. degree. After serv- ing in the Union Forces during the Civil War, he was released in 1866 and came to Northwestern Ohio to establish his select school . The choice of location was made due to the wealth, health, and ease oi access oi Ada . The school was established with the educational ideals Lehr had formed as a student, which included: co-education, ability to enroll students at any time of the year in classes suitable to them, non-sectarianism, the honor system for students conduct, and minimum expenses. The first session opened on November 12, 1866, with an enrollment of fifty-six students. ln August of 1871 the name became Northwestern Ohio Normal. The first commencement exercises were held in 1874. There were eleven graduates and each was required to speak or to write a thesis. The name oi the growing institution was changed again in 1885 to the Ohio Normal University.

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The Department of Pharmacy was established in 1868 in anticipa- tion of legislation which would require all pharmacists to be examined by the state board. The continued expansion led to the construction in 1894 oi a new building for its sole use. The first Founder's Day was observed during Commencement Week of 1897. The University had grown to include thirteen de- partments and an enrollment of over three thousand students. Early in the history oi the University the martial spirit was tos- tered and encouraged. ln 1884, to afford the students the needed exercise as well as to instruct in military science, a department was organized. The non-compulsion plan was adopted and its success was remarkable. ,,..-. . vi--....... ... V ,Y