Established in 1804, Ohio University is the ninth oldest university in the US, and is the first university that was established in the state of Ohio and the entire Northwest Territory.
Manasseh Cutler founded the university, which was originally chartered in 1802 as the American Western University. On February 18, 1804, the university was formally established after its charter was approved by the Ohio General Assembly. The university’s foundation came after the state was admitted to the Union. It was however 11 years later that the school produced its first graduates, and since then, the school’s population grew rapidly, attracting students and faculties not only from across the country but also from other parts of the world.
In the 20th century, Ohio University’s student enrollment flourished, and between 1955 up to 1970, its population tripled which clearly shows its international prominence and overall prestige.
Today, more than 38,000 students are enrolled and spread across its main campus in Athens and its five regional campuses as well as e-learning programs. From its humble beginning, Ohio University now boasts 11 colleges where national and international students are enrolled. The colleges include College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Fine Arts, College of Health and Professions, Honors Tutorial College, Patton College of Education, Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Scripps College of Communication, University College, Graduate College, and Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Among the colleges that the university has, the Colleges of Communication and Engineering are considered to be the most competitive. As a matter of fact, its Mechanical Engineering (Russ College of Engineering and Technology) has been making waves and has significantly made some contributions to the field of robotics. The Robotics, Haptics and Mechatronics Laboratory of the university has produced a number of robots like the Adept SCARA Robot, NASA AAI ARMII 8-Axis Robot, NASA 3- and 4- axis Omni-Wrists, Planar Cable Direct Driven Robot, GPS/IMU Calibration Platform, Spherically Actuated Platform Manipulator, 6 PSU Platform Manipulator and the Robocup player robots. Last year, students from this department participated in the Navigation’s annual autonomous snowplow competition which was held at St. Paul, Minnesota, which clearly shows how competitive the school has become over the years.
