OHIO UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Athens, Ohio, U.S. The university also operates branches in Chillicothe, Ironton, Lancaster, St. Clairsville, and Zanesville. The main campus includes colleges of arts and sciences, business, engineering, education, osteopathic medicine, and communication. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and a doctorate in osteopathic medicine. Research facilities in Athens include Edwards Accelerator Laboratory, the Center for Geotechnical and Environmental Research, and the Institute for Local Government and Rural Development. Total enrollment is approximately 27,000. Ohio University, the first institution of higher education in the Northwest Territory, was founded in 1804, and instruction began five years later. Women were first admitted to the university in 1869. William McGuffey, author of McGuffey's readers, was an early president of Ohio University. The Chillicothe and Zanesville branches were founded in 1946, the Ironton branch in 1958, the St. Clairsville branch in 1967, and the Lancaster branch in 1968. Artist Jim Dine and politician Thomas Ewing, the first U.S. secretary of the interior, are among the university's alumni.