Bowling Green State University
Encyclopedia
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public
, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio
, United States
. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill
, which also established Kent State University
. The 1338 acres (5.4 km²) main academic and residential campus is located 22 miles (35.4 km) south of Toledo, Ohio
in Bowling Green along I-75. In addition BGSU operates a satellite campus, known as BGSU Firelands
, in Huron, Ohio
60 miles (96.6 km) east of the main campus.
Fielding athletic teams known as Bowling Green Falcons
, the university competes at the NCAA Division I level (NCAA Division I-A for football) as a member of the Mid-American Conference
all sports except ice hockey, in which the university is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
. BGSU is one of only thirteen universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I ice hockey. The official school and athletic colors are orange and brown.
Bowling Green offers over 200 undergraduate programs
, as well as various master's and doctoral degrees through eight academic colleges. The university has an enrollment of about 20,000 students, and an on-campus student population of 6,500 students. The majority of Bowling Green's students are from Ohio, with close to 90% of the total enrollment made up of in-state students.
BGSU is home of the national literary journal Mid-American Review
, which publishes new works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and which also sponsors Winter Wheat and The Festival of Writing each November. The university offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations, as well as fraternities and sororities. Alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment.
to meet demands for training and professional development of teacher
s when representatives of the Ohio
chose Bowling Green in 1910 as the location for a northwest Ohio normal school. The representatives established the school at a site on the eastern side of the town on 82.5 acre (0.33386595 km²) of land that included a town park. The school opened in 1914 and was originally known as Bowling Green State Normal School and enrolled 304 students in 1914, primarily from Ohio
, Michigan
, and New York
who were taught by the original faculty of 21. The school graduated 35 certified teachers in 1915, the same year that the campus’ first two buildings, University Hall and Williams Hall, opened their doors. Two years later the first baccalaureate degrees were awarded. Setting the pace for teacher education in Ohio with four-year degree programs, Bowling Green State Normal School achieved the status of college in 1929 and expanded its curriculum through the addition of the College of Liberal Arts, now known as the College of Arts and Sciences.
On October 28, 1927, the nickname “Falcons” was originated by the sports editor of the Daily Sentinel-Tribune. He thought the Falcon
was fitting because it was indicative of a powerful bird that was small in stature, its coloring represented the Bowling Green school colors, and like the athlete, the falcon is a bird that goes through a long period of training before battle. At the time the school was still named Bowling Green State Normal College, Common nicknames, used by sports writers throughout the state, were “B.G. Normals,” “Teachers,” and the “B.G. Pedagogues" The university was briefly in danger of closure in 1933, as the state legislature explored the idea of converting the school into a mental institution. As word spread about the proposed closure and conversion, many students, faculty, and administrators worked together with the Bowling Green community to protest such a move by the state. The Student Protest Committee, coordinating with the faculty and administration, orchestrated a campus rally and subsequent march through the heart of Bowling Green. Members of the Protest Committee then engaged in a letter writing campaign to different community leaders in northwest Ohio, which helped convince the state legislature that the closure of the school would be counterproductive. Later, in 1935, the school was granted university status, which led to the addition of graduate programs and the College of Business Administration. Such additions helped to raise the status of the institution from the college level when it was designated Bowling Green State University. During World War II
, Bowling Green was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
which offered students a path to a Navy commission. With continued growth in the post-war era, enrollment grew rapidly and by 1950, the university's enrollment reached 4,000. The Graduate School
was formed, and BGSU awarded its first doctoral degree in English in 1963.
opened in 1973 to offer degree programs in a variety of health and community services. In 1975, the School of Music was elevated to the College of Musical Arts
. The School of Technology was given college status in 1985 and renamed the College of Technology
. The university expanded many of the technology and science facilities during the 1980s, including constructing the Planetarium and Physical Sciences Building. In 1985 Ronald Reagan
became the seventh president or president to-be to visit the university after Warren G. Harding
, Theodore Roosevelt
, William Howard Taft
, John F. Kennedy
, Richard Nixon
, and Gerald Ford
. The founding tradition of teacher preparation is now maintained in the university's College of Education and Human Development.
During the 1990s the university renovated and constructed a number of buildings on campus. The BGSU Fine Arts Center received a $9.8 million addition in the early 1990s. Founders Hall was reopened in 1994 after extensive renovations at a cost of $15 million, that same year BGSU opened Olscamp Hall. In 1997 The university began construction on East Hall, which opened in 1998. All residence halls received wiring for Ethernet
connections. Following seven past presidents, Bill Clinton
made two campaign stops at the university in 1993 and 1997.
In 2008, the university began the first phase of a $200 million campus renovation project, as part of the master plan. BGSU first announced plans for the Stroh Center
, a new 5,000-seat arena to replace the aging Anderson Arena
. The $36 million arena will be the new home of Falcon basketball and volleyball games and be used for graduation ceremonies, concerts, and other events beginning in the 2011-12 academic year. The arena is named for Kermit Stroh and Mary Lu Stroh, who donated $7.7 million for the project, amounting to the largest private gift in BGSU's history. In 2009 the university began construction on the Wolfe Center for the Arts. The 93000 square feet (8,640 m²) facility will include performance space, as well as work and classroom areas for art studies of the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the School of Musical Arts. The facility is designed by Norwegian
architectural firm Snøhetta, the firm's first American project. That same year, BGSU began work on a $40 million residence hall project that included two new residence halls. one a traditional-style dorm and a second suite-style designed for upperclassmen. The residence hall project will add more than 800 beds to on-campus living. In July 2010, BGSU broke ground on The Oaks. The building opened in the Fall 2011 semester; it includes hybrid solar and wind power fulfilling Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED), uses an electric-powered truck to distribute food on campus and has a rooftop garden. Additionally, the building uses sustainable and recycled construction materials.
(1995–2008), and Carol A. Cartwright
(2008–2011), and Mary Ellen Mazey
(2011–present).
. The campus is laid out in a rectangle
roughly one and a half miles long and a mile wide and includes over 116 buildings on 1338 acres (5.4 km²). The main portion of campus is bordered by Wooster Street to the South, Thurstin Ave to the West, Poe Rd to the North, and I-75 to the East. The university also owns a number of other buildings and parking lots throughout Bowling Green and the Bowling Green Research Enterprise Park just east of I-75. Ridge Street and East Merry Street run East-West through campus and Mercer Street bisects campus on a North-South axis. Oak Grove Cemetery is located in the North-central portion of campus.
This portion of the BGSU campus is located in the southwest corner of campus. It contains the oldest buildings on campus and the historical location of the entire university. The part of campus has vast green space with many large trees and a number of historic buildings built in the early 1900s and original to the university. A number of administrative services occupy the buildings in old campus as well as classroom space. Although not part of the historic section, Founders Hall, a large residence hall is located on the Southwest corner of campus. Hanna Hall houses the The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater and Gallery. Dedicated to BGSU in 1976, it features film paraphernalia that honors early film history and the careers of both Lillian Gish
and Dorothy Gish
. Ralph Evan Wolfe currently oversees The Gish Film Theater and Gallery and contributes films, movie posters, and funds to the collection. It was renovated and rededicated in 1990. It seats 168 and is home to Tuesdays at the Gish, International Film Series, and Sunday Matinee Series], which are all free and open to the community.
The Science Research Complex is located on northwest side of campus. The buildings of the science research complex are much newer, built in the mid 1960s. They include the Mathematical Science Building, Life Science, Psychology Building, Physical Science Building, and Technology Building(engineering
), are all located in this portion of BGSU. In addition The Geology
, Chemistry
, and Earth Science
Departments are located in Overman Hall on the Northwest portion of campus. Two large residence hall occupy the Western edge of campus. The Offenhauer Towers consist of a 10 story tower and an 11 story tower. They are the two largest buildings on campus. The McDonald Quadrangle houses over 1,300 students.
The Bowen-Thompson Student Union opened in 2002 and is located in the West-central part of campus. It houses a number of places to eat: Falcon's Nest food court
, The Bowling Greenery, Starbucks
, Wendy's
, and The Black Swamp Pub, an on-campus pub. Other facilities include the Campus Bookstore, The Peregrine Shop (a convenience store
), an on-campus post office
, computer labs, meeting rooms, a 250-seat movie theater
, ball rooms, and student lounges.
Central Campus is made up of a number of large lecture halls and classroom buildings. One of the most prominent is the 95000 sq ft (8,825.8 m²) Olscamp Hall, which contains 28 classrooms and lecture halls capable of seating a total of 2,000 students. Other large lecture halls include, The Business Administration Building, The Education Building, and Eppler Complex, home to the Sport Management
department. Anderson Arena
is a 5,000-seat arena and the home for BGSU Men's and Women's basketball
and women's gymnastics
and volleyball
. Memorial Hall is connected to Anderson and houses the ROTC programs. Jerome Library is the main library on campus and the second tallest building at nine stories.
University Health Services is located along Ridge Street and the BGSU campus police station as well as parking and traffic is located near the intersection of Wooster Street and College Ave on the southern edge of campus. Kohl Hall and Rodgers Quadrangle are two residence halls located along Wooster Street in the central portion of campus. Located along Wooster Street is a complex of individual on-campus fraternity houses as well as a few sorority houses, although the majority of Sorority living spaces are near the Student Union on the western edge of BG.
Arts programs are located to the East of Anderson Arena and Jerome Library in the East-central portion of campus. Fine Arts Center is home to the School of Art and houses classroom, studio, and workshop spaces, art galleries, and faculty offices. Moore Musical Arts Center is located along Ridge and is the home to the College of Musical Arts. Moore includes classrooms, recording studios, rehearsal halls, and the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. The Centerpiece for the Arts portion of campus will be the Wolfe Center. The modern facility will house the Department of Theatre and Film. The 93000 sq ft (8,640 m²) building will include classrooms, rehearsal space, performance/theater space, as well as design and office space. Construction will begin in April 2009 with completion set for 2011. The Wolfe Center for the Arts opens in 2011 and includes 93000 square feet (8,640 m²) of space for the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the School of Musical Arts. The Wolfe Center contains and features the 400-seat Thomas and Kathleen Donnell Theatre, a black-box stage, editing and digital laboratories, classrooms, studios, faculty space, and choral rehearsal rooms.
The majority of Athletic and recreation facilities are located on the Eastern half of campus along and to the East of Mercer Street. The Student Recreation Center is a 185000 sq ft (17,187.1 m²) facility that includes two swimming pools, four weight rooms, a cardio room, an elevated running track, an Activity Center for aerobics
and a large Sports Center which accommodates basketball
, tennis
, volleyball
, and badminton
and other sports. The Perry Field House is a 127000 sq ft (11,798.7 m²) athletic facility with a 100 x 60 indoor synthetic turf, four batting cages, and a 200-meter track encircling four courts for basketball, volleyball, or tennis. The BGSU Ice Arena
is a 5,000-seat ice hockey
arena that is used by various teams and clubs as well as public use. In addition to the main ice surface the arena also includes a smaller ice sheet for curling
, figure skating
, youth ice hockey
, and public skating
. The Eppler complex is oldest building on campus for athletics and is main practice area for cheerleading
, gymnastics
, dancing and fencing
. At one time it housed the original nautorium. Doyt Perry Stadium
is a 28,600 seat college football
stadium located on the Eastern edge of campus along I-75. The Stroh Center
is a new on-campus venue for athletics, concerts, commencement, lectures, and numerous campus and community events. The facility serves as the home for the Falcons men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs. Notably, the new structure will be one of the most environmentally friendly buildings on campus, designed to achieve challenging Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
certification.
. The system is made up of three routes (not including the special shortened Sunday-only route). The main route includes major stops on campus and buses run every 10 minutes. Off Campus North Route runs from the bus stop at the Student Union North through The Science Research Complex before leaving campus and running North to the Woodland Mall before heading back southeast with stops at major apartment complexes and downtown Bowling Green. The Off Campus South Route is the third route and runs through the southern portion of campus and the neighborhoods South of the university. In addition to the bus system, the university also runs a free ride service for students to go to destinations off campus.
, Huron
, Lorain
, and Ottawa
counties, extension programs established a foundation for BGSU Firelands
, the University's regional campus. Located near the shores of Lake Erie
in Huron, Ohio
, and about 60 miles (96.6 km) east of Bowling Green, Ohio, This college was established in 1968, when the first building (now Foundation Hall) at the Huron location was opened. BGSU Firelands is home to approximately 2,000 students. The college grants mostly 2-year degrees, but students are able to complete 4-year degrees in Early Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Business Administration, Liberal Studies, Visual Communication Technology, Applied Health Science, Nursing, and Advanced Tech Ed.
In 2003, the Cedar Point Center, BGSU’s most technologically sophisticated facility, opened its doors on the Firelands campus to serve constituents of the University and the community. For instance, The Women's Center, founded in 1998, provides a place for the community to gather and serves as a resource center. Many student organizations meet at the center. The center hosts brown bag lunches once a month where all are welcome to join in informal discussions on topics of broad interest.
, College of Business Administration
, College of Education and Human Development
, Graduate College, College of Health and Human Services, College of Musical Arts, and College of Technology. There are two schools within the College of Arts and Sciences: the School of Earth, Environment and Society and the School of Media and Communication.
For 2011, BGSU was ranked 170th by U.S. News & World Report
as a Tier 1 university.
BGSU's degree programs include the nation's first Ph.D.
program in photochemical science, one of the first undergraduate programs in neuroscience
, the first masters degree in Organizational Development and the first executive MBA program in the State of Ohio. The college of Business recently opened a facility at Levis Commons in Perrysburg Ohio for its Professional MBA program. In addition, BGSU has accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
to offer full degree programs online.
BGSU remains a leader in teacher
preparation institution. Students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Development
may choose majors from among several teacher licensure areas, including early childhood (grades Pre-K to 3), Middle Childhood (grades 4 - 9), Adolescent-Young Adult (grades 7 - 12), Special Education (grades K - 12), and foreign language (grades K - 12). In addition, BGSU continues to have one of the top four programs in the United States for Industrial & Organizational Psychology per U.S. News and World Report.
BGSU currently is the home of Ohio's largest student-run philanthropy, Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon is run entirely by college students nationwide to benefit local children's hospitals, and Bowling Green State University is proud to have one of the largest and most active Dance Marathon organizations in the nation. Funds raised through BGSU's Dance Marathon benefit ill or injured children at the Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo via the Children's Miracle Network. The 2011 event will be held April 2 & 3 at the Student Recreation Center. For more information visit www.bgdancemarathon.com
In 1979, American author
James Baldwin
taught at BGSU for one quarter as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Ethnic Studies Department, after a month-long stint as writer-in-residence in 1978.
Bowling Green's sports teams are called the Falcons. The Falcons participate in NCAA
Division I (Division I-A for football
) and in the Mid-American Conference
and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
. BGSU is one of only 13 universities in the country offering NCAA division I-A football, division I men's and women's basketball
, and division I ice hockey
. The Falcons have won three conference championships in a row in women's basketball in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In advancing to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
each of those years, the Falcons lost in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but then won their first two games on their way to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2007. The women's soccer team won the conference crown in 2005.
The Falcons' main rivals are the Rockets of the University of Toledo
. Separated by just 20 miles (32.2 km) on Interstate 75
, the two schools celebrate a heated rivalry in several sports. The most well-known of these games is the Battle of I-75, a football game held each year in which the winner takes home the Peace Pipe
, an American Indian peace pipe placed upon a wood tablet. The 1984 Falcons hockey team defeated the University of Minnesota-Duluth, in the longest college hockey championship game in history, to win the NCAA National Championship. Former BGSU head football coach Doyt L. Perry lead the Falcons to a NCAA Football National Title in the year of 1959. Former BGSU head football coach Urban Meyer
went on to great success at the University of Florida
, earning two BCS National Championship Game
appearances in a three year span, winning in both 2007
and 2009
. Former BGSU head hockey coach Jerry York went on to become the winningest active coach in NCAA hockey and win three NCAA National Championships at Boston College
in 2001
, 2008
, and 2010
after his first at Bowling Green in 1984
.
In 2008, Bowling Green State University released plans for the new Stroh Center
, which is intended to be the new home for BGSU basketball and volleyball.
Another important entity of BGSU Athletics is the musical contributions from the 270 member Falcon Marching Band
and the BGSU Athletic Band. They perform at most, if not all, "home" athletic events.
For the fourth consecutive year in 2007, BGSU was listed for its residential living/learning communities in U.S. News & World Report
's “America's Best Colleges” under “Programs to Look For,” a section of the guide that notes “outstanding examples of academic programs believed to lead to student success." In BGSU's residential learning communities, students with similar interests and goals live and study together. In the academically based communities students work closely with faculty members who teach classes and have offices right in the residence hall.
BGSU's Career Center provides comprehensive career services to its students and alumni including career planning, on- and off-campus student employment, co-op and internships opportunities, and post-graduate and graduate school planning. The following services are provided: (1) individual consultations to discuss academic and career planning or job search strategies, (2) career development courses including UNIV 131-Career & Life Planning, UNIV 141-Effective Strategies in the Workplace, and UNIV 141-Career Implementation, (3) career assessments that measure interests, personality characteristics and preferences for various work environments, (4) the Career Resource Library, (5) on-campus recruiting, (6) job fairs, (7) workshops related to interviewing, resume writing, job search techniques, and networking, (8)WorkNet, an online job listing software, and (9) career related publications. The Career Center can help students develop career goals, identify academic and experiential program that achieve these goals, and help students gain employment in their chosen field.
GeoJourney is a nine-week field trip/camping trip/road trip across the United States to many national parks and monuments for a full semester of college credit. The course content taught as a part of the GeoJourney field program includes geology, environmental studies and Native American studies. " In 2004 the first GeoJourney trip went to 24 states 30 national parks and covered over 14,500 miles across the United States. Since then the GeoJourney program has run every year and taken 24 students around the country for BGSU course credit.
From its beginning in 1999 as a student run organization under the University Activities Organization, the BGSU Outdoor Program " has evolved into a valuable additional to campus life as a part of the Department of Recreational Sports. The OP, as it is often referred, offers outdoor trips, an indoor climbing wall, team-building, and an outdoor equipment rental center to BGSU students, faculty, staff and surrounding community members. In August 2008 the BGSU Outdoor Program introduced the Freshman Wilderness Experience. This program couples a week-long backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail with a monthly class to assist students in transitioning from high school to college life. In 2009 The Outdoor Program won the David J Web award for being an outstanding non-profit outdoor program by AORE
Bowling Green hosts an annual event for three days in February similar to other winter cities
to celebrate winter, snow
, and cold weather activities. Winterfest in Bowling Green centers around the rich ice skating
and ice hockey
traditions of the town. Winterfest events are held all over Bowling Green, and on and off campus. Many of the on campus events are held at the BGSU Ice Arena
, curling, skating, BGSU ice hockey
and figure skating exhibitions are just a few of the events held during the weekend on campus.
, Alpha Tau Omega
, Delta Chi
, Delta Tau Delta
, Kappa Alpha Order
, Kappa Sigma
, Lambda Chi Alpha
, Phi Delta Theta
, Phi Gamma Delta
, Phi Kappa Psi
, Pi Kappa Alpha
, Pi Kappa Phi
, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
, Sigma Nu
, Sigma Phi Epsilon
, & Tau Kappa Epsilon
. Panhel members include: Alpha Chi Omega
, Alpha Omicron Pi
, Alpha Phi
, Alpha Xi Delta
, Chi Omega
, Delta Gamma
, Delta Zeta
, Gamma Phi Beta
, Kappa Delta
, Kappa Kappa Gamma
, Phi Mu
, Pi Beta Phi
, Sigma Kappa
. NPHC members include eight of the Divine nine: Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta
sorority, Iota Phi Theta fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity, Omega Psi Phi
fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma
fraternity, & Zeta Phi Beta
sorority. MGC members include: Delta Lambda Phi
fraternity (Gay, Bisexual and Progressive Men), Delta Xi Phi
sorority (Multicultural), Omega Phi Alpha
sorority (service), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
fraternity, Sigma Lambda Beta
International fraternity, Inc, and Sigma Lambda Gamma
sorority
, non-commercial educational
(NCE), FCC-licensed college radio station, while WFAL Falcon Radio
, formerly WFAL 1610 AM, is a student-run commercial radio station. Bowling Green Radio News Organization (BGRNO)-BGRNO provides up-to-the minute radio news coverage Monday-Friday on WBGU-FM AND WFAL-AM. Students write, produce, and report live on the air the latest local and national news, sports and weather stories. Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)-BGRSO broadcasts BGSU's football, hockey, men's and women's basketball, and baseball games on WBGU-FM and WFAL-AM. WBGU-FM is also the flagship station for women's basketball and hockey. BGSU is also home to BG24 News, a student-run television newscast airing live at 5:30pm three days a week.
Mid-American Review
(MAR), published through the BGSU Department of English since 1980, is nationally recognized for publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Preceding MAR was Itinerary, a magazine that was established by editor Robert Early in 1972 to publish the works of BGSU's MFA students. However, the students tired of publishing nothing but their own work and suggested broadening into an international publication. Itinerary was retired in 1980 when the first issue of MAR was released. No BGSU student work is included in MAR (with the exception of occasional reviews of newly released literary titles). Prairie Margins is a national undergraduate literary journal published by students in the Creative Writing Program at BGSU. The annual journal features literary work by both BGSU students and undergraduate creative writers from other institutions. The Projector is a peer-reviewed electronic journal on film, media and culture published twice a year by the Department of Theatre & Film.
, Scott Hamilton
, Mike McCullough, Nate Thurmond
, Rob Blake
, Orel Hershiser
, Ken Morrow
, Don Nehlen
, Jordan Sigalet
, and George McPhee
. In addition, many state politicians have graduated from Bowling Green, including current Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, former Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon
, and current Ohio state senators Randy Gardner
and Kevin Coughlin
. Other notable alumni include actress Eva Marie Saint
, author Philana Marie Boles
, NYU economic professor William Easterly
, actor
Tim Conway
, Group President for Discovery Communications Eileen O'Neill, ESPN sportscasters Jay Crawford
and Jason Jackson
, CBS News
Correspondent Steve Hartman
, TCU
Chancellor Dr. Victor J. Boschini
and Adobe Systems
President and CEO Shantanu Narayen
, and Colonel Brenda Joyce Hollis (Ret., U.S. Air Force) who was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame for her efforts as an international criminal prosecutor who was a pivotal figure during the Yugoslav Tribunal in 1994 — the first international trials in which rape was categorized as torture and recognized as a war crime. Col. Hollis was recently appointed as prosecutor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone by the United Nations Secretary-General.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill
Lowry bill
The Lowry Bill, also known as the Lowry Act and the Lowry Normal School Bill, was a bill introduced in 1910 in the Ohio state legislature which called for the establishment of two state normal schools in northern Ohio, one in the northeast and one in the northwest. It was named after its main...
, which also established Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
. The 1338 acres (5.4 km²) main academic and residential campus is located 22 miles (35.4 km) south of Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
in Bowling Green along I-75. In addition BGSU operates a satellite campus, known as BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands is a satellite college that is connected to Bowling Green State University. BGSU Firelands is located near the shores of Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio, about east of Bowling Green, Ohio. It is a separate college of the Bowling Green State University system...
, in Huron, Ohio
Huron, Ohio
Huron is a city in Erie County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,958 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History and culture:...
60 miles (96.6 km) east of the main campus.
Fielding athletic teams known as Bowling Green Falcons
Bowling Green Falcons
The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Bowling Green State University, located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Falcons participate in NCAA Division I in the Mid-American Conference and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. BGSU is one of only 13 universities in the...
, the university competes at the NCAA Division I level (NCAA Division I-A for football) as a member of the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
all sports except ice hockey, in which the university is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...
. BGSU is one of only thirteen universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I ice hockey. The official school and athletic colors are orange and brown.
Bowling Green offers over 200 undergraduate programs
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
, as well as various master's and doctoral degrees through eight academic colleges. The university has an enrollment of about 20,000 students, and an on-campus student population of 6,500 students. The majority of Bowling Green's students are from Ohio, with close to 90% of the total enrollment made up of in-state students.
BGSU is home of the national literary journal Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, MAR is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University...
, which publishes new works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, and which also sponsors Winter Wheat and The Festival of Writing each November. The university offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations, as well as fraternities and sororities. Alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment.
Early history
The university was one of several institutions established in the Progressive EraProgressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
to meet demands for training and professional development of teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s when representatives of the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
chose Bowling Green in 1910 as the location for a northwest Ohio normal school. The representatives established the school at a site on the eastern side of the town on 82.5 acre (0.33386595 km²) of land that included a town park. The school opened in 1914 and was originally known as Bowling Green State Normal School and enrolled 304 students in 1914, primarily from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who were taught by the original faculty of 21. The school graduated 35 certified teachers in 1915, the same year that the campus’ first two buildings, University Hall and Williams Hall, opened their doors. Two years later the first baccalaureate degrees were awarded. Setting the pace for teacher education in Ohio with four-year degree programs, Bowling Green State Normal School achieved the status of college in 1929 and expanded its curriculum through the addition of the College of Liberal Arts, now known as the College of Arts and Sciences.
On October 28, 1927, the nickname “Falcons” was originated by the sports editor of the Daily Sentinel-Tribune. He thought the Falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
was fitting because it was indicative of a powerful bird that was small in stature, its coloring represented the Bowling Green school colors, and like the athlete, the falcon is a bird that goes through a long period of training before battle. At the time the school was still named Bowling Green State Normal College, Common nicknames, used by sports writers throughout the state, were “B.G. Normals,” “Teachers,” and the “B.G. Pedagogues" The university was briefly in danger of closure in 1933, as the state legislature explored the idea of converting the school into a mental institution. As word spread about the proposed closure and conversion, many students, faculty, and administrators worked together with the Bowling Green community to protest such a move by the state. The Student Protest Committee, coordinating with the faculty and administration, orchestrated a campus rally and subsequent march through the heart of Bowling Green. Members of the Protest Committee then engaged in a letter writing campaign to different community leaders in northwest Ohio, which helped convince the state legislature that the closure of the school would be counterproductive. Later, in 1935, the school was granted university status, which led to the addition of graduate programs and the College of Business Administration. Such additions helped to raise the status of the institution from the college level when it was designated Bowling Green State University. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bowling Green was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
which offered students a path to a Navy commission. With continued growth in the post-war era, enrollment grew rapidly and by 1950, the university's enrollment reached 4,000. The Graduate School
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
was formed, and BGSU awarded its first doctoral degree in English in 1963.
Recent history
The 1970s represented a hallmark of progress with the addition of three new colleges. The College of Health and Human ServicesHealth
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
opened in 1973 to offer degree programs in a variety of health and community services. In 1975, the School of Music was elevated to the College of Musical Arts
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. The School of Technology was given college status in 1985 and renamed the College of Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The university expanded many of the technology and science facilities during the 1980s, including constructing the Planetarium and Physical Sciences Building. In 1985 Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
became the seventh president or president to-be to visit the university after Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. The founding tradition of teacher preparation is now maintained in the university's College of Education and Human Development.
During the 1990s the university renovated and constructed a number of buildings on campus. The BGSU Fine Arts Center received a $9.8 million addition in the early 1990s. Founders Hall was reopened in 1994 after extensive renovations at a cost of $15 million, that same year BGSU opened Olscamp Hall. In 1997 The university began construction on East Hall, which opened in 1998. All residence halls received wiring for Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
connections. Following seven past presidents, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
made two campaign stops at the university in 1993 and 1997.
In 2008, the university began the first phase of a $200 million campus renovation project, as part of the master plan. BGSU first announced plans for the Stroh Center
Stroh Center
The Stroh Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio that is currently under construction and will open September 2011...
, a new 5,000-seat arena to replace the aging Anderson Arena
Anderson Arena
Anderson Arena is a 4,700-seat indoor arena that sits in Memorial Hall on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and is currently home to the Bowling Green Falcons women's gymnastics team. The arena, which opened in 1960, served as the home arena for Bowling Green's...
. The $36 million arena will be the new home of Falcon basketball and volleyball games and be used for graduation ceremonies, concerts, and other events beginning in the 2011-12 academic year. The arena is named for Kermit Stroh and Mary Lu Stroh, who donated $7.7 million for the project, amounting to the largest private gift in BGSU's history. In 2009 the university began construction on the Wolfe Center for the Arts. The 93000 square feet (8,640 m²) facility will include performance space, as well as work and classroom areas for art studies of the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the School of Musical Arts. The facility is designed by Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
architectural firm Snøhetta, the firm's first American project. That same year, BGSU began work on a $40 million residence hall project that included two new residence halls. one a traditional-style dorm and a second suite-style designed for upperclassmen. The residence hall project will add more than 800 beds to on-campus living. In July 2010, BGSU broke ground on The Oaks. The building opened in the Fall 2011 semester; it includes hybrid solar and wind power fulfilling Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED), uses an electric-powered truck to distribute food on campus and has a rooftop garden. Additionally, the building uses sustainable and recycled construction materials.
Presidents
Presidents of BGSU have included Homer B. Williams (1912–1937), R.E. Offenhauer (1937–1938), Frank J. Prout (1938–1951), Ralph W. McDonald (1951–1961), Ralph G. Harshman (1961–1963), William Travers Jerome III (1963–1970), Hollis A. Moore, Jr. (1970–1981), Michael R. Ferrari (Interim) (1981–1982), Paul J. Olscamp (1982–1995), Sidney A. RibeauSidney A. Ribeau
Sidney Ribeau is the current president of Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Prior to accepting the position at Howard, Ribeau was for 13 years the president of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Ribeau, a married father of three, is the 16th president of the 11,000-student...
(1995–2008), and Carol A. Cartwright
Carol A. Cartwright
Carol A. Cartwright is an American academic administrator and president of Bowling Green State University. She became interim president of BGSU in July 2008, succeeding Sidney Ribeau who left to become president of Howard University. She became president of BGSU on January 6, 2009, and will retire...
(2008–2011), and Mary Ellen Mazey
Mary Ellen Mazey
Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey is the President of Bowling Green State University Dr. Mazey's extensive experience in Ohio public universities and with implementing strategic plans, coupled with her understanding of the role higher education has to play in the state’s well-being, led the BGSU trustees to...
(2011–present).
Campus
The main academic and residential campus of Bowling Green State is located on the Northeast side of Bowling Green, OhioBowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
. The campus is laid out in a rectangle
Rectangle
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...
roughly one and a half miles long and a mile wide and includes over 116 buildings on 1338 acres (5.4 km²). The main portion of campus is bordered by Wooster Street to the South, Thurstin Ave to the West, Poe Rd to the North, and I-75 to the East. The university also owns a number of other buildings and parking lots throughout Bowling Green and the Bowling Green Research Enterprise Park just east of I-75. Ridge Street and East Merry Street run East-West through campus and Mercer Street bisects campus on a North-South axis. Oak Grove Cemetery is located in the North-central portion of campus.
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
and Dorothy Gish
Dorothy Gish
Dorothy Elizabeth Gish was an American actress, and the younger sister of actress Lillian Gish.-Early life:...
. Ralph Evan Wolfe currently oversees The Gish Film Theater and Gallery and contributes films, movie posters, and funds to the collection. It was renovated and rededicated in 1990. It seats 168 and is home to Tuesdays at the Gish, International Film Series, and Sunday Matinee Series], which are all free and open to the community.
The Science Research Complex is located on northwest side of campus. The buildings of the science research complex are much newer, built in the mid 1960s. They include the Mathematical Science Building, Life Science, Psychology Building, Physical Science Building, and Technology Building(engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
), are all located in this portion of BGSU. In addition The Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and Earth Science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
Departments are located in Overman Hall on the Northwest portion of campus. Two large residence hall occupy the Western edge of campus. The Offenhauer Towers consist of a 10 story tower and an 11 story tower. They are the two largest buildings on campus. The McDonald Quadrangle houses over 1,300 students.
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
, The Bowling Greenery, Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, and The Black Swamp Pub, an on-campus pub. Other facilities include the Campus Bookstore, The Peregrine Shop (a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
), an on-campus post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, computer labs, meeting rooms, a 250-seat movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, ball rooms, and student lounges.
Central Campus is made up of a number of large lecture halls and classroom buildings. One of the most prominent is the 95000 sq ft (8,825.8 m²) Olscamp Hall, which contains 28 classrooms and lecture halls capable of seating a total of 2,000 students. Other large lecture halls include, The Business Administration Building, The Education Building, and Eppler Complex, home to the Sport Management
Sport management
Sport management is a field of education and vocation concerning the business aspect of sport. Some examples of sport managers include the front office system in professional sports, college sports managers, recreational sport managers, sports marketing, event management, facility management,...
department. Anderson Arena
Anderson Arena
Anderson Arena is a 4,700-seat indoor arena that sits in Memorial Hall on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and is currently home to the Bowling Green Falcons women's gymnastics team. The arena, which opened in 1960, served as the home arena for Bowling Green's...
is a 5,000-seat arena and the home for BGSU Men's and Women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and women's gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. Memorial Hall is connected to Anderson and houses the ROTC programs. Jerome Library is the main library on campus and the second tallest building at nine stories.
University Health Services is located along Ridge Street and the BGSU campus police station as well as parking and traffic is located near the intersection of Wooster Street and College Ave on the southern edge of campus. Kohl Hall and Rodgers Quadrangle are two residence halls located along Wooster Street in the central portion of campus. Located along Wooster Street is a complex of individual on-campus fraternity houses as well as a few sorority houses, although the majority of Sorority living spaces are near the Student Union on the western edge of BG.
Athletic and recreation facilities
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
and a large Sports Center which accommodates basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, and badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
and other sports. The Perry Field House is a 127000 sq ft (11,798.7 m²) athletic facility with a 100 x 60 indoor synthetic turf, four batting cages, and a 200-meter track encircling four courts for basketball, volleyball, or tennis. The BGSU Ice Arena
BGSU Ice Arena
The Bowling Green State University Ice Arena is a 5,000-seat hockey arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. It is home to the BGSU Falcons ice hockey team of the CCHA. It was built from 1965 to 1967 for a cost of $1.8 million and opened in February 1967...
is a 5,000-seat ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
arena that is used by various teams and clubs as well as public use. In addition to the main ice surface the arena also includes a smaller ice sheet for curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
, figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
, youth ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, and public skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
. The Eppler complex is oldest building on campus for athletics and is main practice area for cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, dancing and fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
. At one time it housed the original nautorium. Doyt Perry Stadium
Doyt Perry Stadium
Doyt L. Perry Stadium is a stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Bowling Green State University Falcons. It opened in 1966 and originally held 23,232 people. Recent renovations and new NCAA seating regulations have...
is a 28,600 seat college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
stadium located on the Eastern edge of campus along I-75. The Stroh Center
Stroh Center
The Stroh Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio that is currently under construction and will open September 2011...
is a new on-campus venue for athletics, concerts, commencement, lectures, and numerous campus and community events. The facility serves as the home for the Falcons men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs. Notably, the new structure will be one of the most environmentally friendly buildings on campus, designed to achieve challenging Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certification.
Transportation
The campus fare-free bus transit system began in 1990 and that runs throughout campus and Bowling Green, OhioBowling Green, Ohio
Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
. The system is made up of three routes (not including the special shortened Sunday-only route). The main route includes major stops on campus and buses run every 10 minutes. Off Campus North Route runs from the bus stop at the Student Union North through The Science Research Complex before leaving campus and running North to the Woodland Mall before heading back southeast with stops at major apartment complexes and downtown Bowling Green. The Off Campus South Route is the third route and runs through the southern portion of campus and the neighborhoods South of the university. In addition to the bus system, the university also runs a free ride service for students to go to destinations off campus.
BGSU Firelands Campus
Extension services are integral to the University’s rich curricular texture and rural history. First offered in 1946 in the Sandusky, Ohio, area and later expanded to serve ErieErie County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,551 people, 31,727 households, and 21,764 families residing in the county. The population density was 312 people per square mile . There were 35,909 housing units at an average density of 141 per square mile...
, Huron
Huron County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 59,487 people, 22,307 households, and 16,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 121 people per square mile . There were 23,594 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile...
, Lorain
Lorain County, Ohio
Lorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...
, and Ottawa
Ottawa County, Ohio
Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,428. Its county seat is Port Clinton and is named either for the Ottawa Indians who lived there, or for an Indian word meaning "trader"....
counties, extension programs established a foundation for BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands is a satellite college that is connected to Bowling Green State University. BGSU Firelands is located near the shores of Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio, about east of Bowling Green, Ohio. It is a separate college of the Bowling Green State University system...
, the University's regional campus. Located near the shores of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
in Huron, Ohio
Huron, Ohio
Huron is a city in Erie County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,958 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History and culture:...
, and about 60 miles (96.6 km) east of Bowling Green, Ohio, This college was established in 1968, when the first building (now Foundation Hall) at the Huron location was opened. BGSU Firelands is home to approximately 2,000 students. The college grants mostly 2-year degrees, but students are able to complete 4-year degrees in Early Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Business Administration, Liberal Studies, Visual Communication Technology, Applied Health Science, Nursing, and Advanced Tech Ed.
In 2003, the Cedar Point Center, BGSU’s most technologically sophisticated facility, opened its doors on the Firelands campus to serve constituents of the University and the community. For instance, The Women's Center, founded in 1998, provides a place for the community to gather and serves as a resource center. Many student organizations meet at the center. The center hosts brown bag lunches once a month where all are welcome to join in informal discussions on topics of broad interest.
Academics and organization
Colleges and schools at BGSU include College of Arts and SciencesBowling Green State University College of Arts and Sciences
Bowling Green State University College of Arts and Sciences is the College of Arts and Sciences at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio...
, College of Business Administration
Bowling Green State University College of Business Administration
The Bowling Green State University College of Business Administration is the business school of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. BGSU's Business Administration College is recognized as one of the top business schools by The Princeton Review...
, College of Education and Human Development
Bowling Green State University College of Education and Human Development
Bowling Green State University College of Education and Human Development is the School of education at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The college offers curriculum for both undergraduate and graduate students ....
, Graduate College, College of Health and Human Services, College of Musical Arts, and College of Technology. There are two schools within the College of Arts and Sciences: the School of Earth, Environment and Society and the School of Media and Communication.
For 2011, BGSU was ranked 170th by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
as a Tier 1 university.
BGSU's degree programs include the nation's first Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
program in photochemical science, one of the first undergraduate programs in neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, the first masters degree in Organizational Development and the first executive MBA program in the State of Ohio. The college of Business recently opened a facility at Levis Commons in Perrysburg Ohio for its Professional MBA program. In addition, BGSU has accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
to offer full degree programs online.
BGSU remains a leader in teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
preparation institution. Students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Development
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
may choose majors from among several teacher licensure areas, including early childhood (grades Pre-K to 3), Middle Childhood (grades 4 - 9), Adolescent-Young Adult (grades 7 - 12), Special Education (grades K - 12), and foreign language (grades K - 12). In addition, BGSU continues to have one of the top four programs in the United States for Industrial & Organizational Psychology per U.S. News and World Report.
BGSU currently is the home of Ohio's largest student-run philanthropy, Dance Marathon. Dance Marathon is run entirely by college students nationwide to benefit local children's hospitals, and Bowling Green State University is proud to have one of the largest and most active Dance Marathon organizations in the nation. Funds raised through BGSU's Dance Marathon benefit ill or injured children at the Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo via the Children's Miracle Network. The 2011 event will be held April 2 & 3 at the Student Recreation Center. For more information visit www.bgdancemarathon.com
In 1979, American author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
taught at BGSU for one quarter as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Ethnic Studies Department, after a month-long stint as writer-in-residence in 1978.
Athletics
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Bowling Green's sports teams are called the Falcons. The Falcons participate in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I (Division I-A for football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
) and in the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey college athletic conference that operates mostly in Michigan and Ohio, although it also has members in Alaska and Indiana. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. It holds its championship...
. BGSU is one of only 13 universities in the country offering NCAA division I-A football, division I men's and women's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and division I ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. The Falcons have won three conference championships in a row in women's basketball in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In advancing to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
each of those years, the Falcons lost in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but then won their first two games on their way to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2007. The women's soccer team won the conference crown in 2005.
The Falcons' main rivals are the Rockets of the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
. Separated by just 20 miles (32.2 km) on Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
, the two schools celebrate a heated rivalry in several sports. The most well-known of these games is the Battle of I-75, a football game held each year in which the winner takes home the Peace Pipe
Peace Pipe (college football)
In college football, the Peace Pipe is a trophy awarded annually to the winner of the game between the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University...
, an American Indian peace pipe placed upon a wood tablet. The 1984 Falcons hockey team defeated the University of Minnesota-Duluth, in the longest college hockey championship game in history, to win the NCAA National Championship. Former BGSU head football coach Doyt L. Perry lead the Falcons to a NCAA Football National Title in the year of 1959. Former BGSU head football coach Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
went on to great success at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, earning two BCS National Championship Game
BCS National Championship Game
The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
appearances in a three year span, winning in both 2007
2007 BCS National Championship Game
The 2007 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by Tostitos, was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007. The BCS No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, 41–14. The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing...
and 2009
2009 BCS National Championship Game
The 2009 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by FedEx, was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on January 8, 2009. It was the national championship game for the 2008 college football season, and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the...
. Former BGSU head hockey coach Jerry York went on to become the winningest active coach in NCAA hockey and win three NCAA National Championships at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
in 2001
2001 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey.The final event was played at Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York...
, 2008
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey...
, and 2010
2010 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament
-Regional semifinals:-Regional final:The regional final between Michigan and Miami was not without controversy. In the first overtime, Michigan appeared to score what would have been the game winning goal. However, the goal was ruled off due to what replay showed to be an early whistle...
after his first at Bowling Green in 1984
1984 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1984 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1983–84 season in men's ice hockey for teams in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Bowling Green Falcons defeated the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the championship game, held in Lake...
.
In 2008, Bowling Green State University released plans for the new Stroh Center
Stroh Center
The Stroh Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio that is currently under construction and will open September 2011...
, which is intended to be the new home for BGSU basketball and volleyball.
Another important entity of BGSU Athletics is the musical contributions from the 270 member Falcon Marching Band
Falcon Marching Band
The Falcon Marching Band is the marching band of Bowling Green State University. It features a symphonic sound and chair step marching that rivals bands of larger conferences. Under the direction of Dr. Carol Hayward, the 275 member marching band is the largest student organization on campus...
and the BGSU Athletic Band. They perform at most, if not all, "home" athletic events.
Student life
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
's “America's Best Colleges” under “Programs to Look For,” a section of the guide that notes “outstanding examples of academic programs believed to lead to student success." In BGSU's residential learning communities, students with similar interests and goals live and study together. In the academically based communities students work closely with faculty members who teach classes and have offices right in the residence hall.
BGSU's Career Center provides comprehensive career services to its students and alumni including career planning, on- and off-campus student employment, co-op and internships opportunities, and post-graduate and graduate school planning. The following services are provided: (1) individual consultations to discuss academic and career planning or job search strategies, (2) career development courses including UNIV 131-Career & Life Planning, UNIV 141-Effective Strategies in the Workplace, and UNIV 141-Career Implementation, (3) career assessments that measure interests, personality characteristics and preferences for various work environments, (4) the Career Resource Library, (5) on-campus recruiting, (6) job fairs, (7) workshops related to interviewing, resume writing, job search techniques, and networking, (8)WorkNet, an online job listing software, and (9) career related publications. The Career Center can help students develop career goals, identify academic and experiential program that achieve these goals, and help students gain employment in their chosen field.
GeoJourney is a nine-week field trip/camping trip/road trip across the United States to many national parks and monuments for a full semester of college credit. The course content taught as a part of the GeoJourney field program includes geology, environmental studies and Native American studies. " In 2004 the first GeoJourney trip went to 24 states 30 national parks and covered over 14,500 miles across the United States. Since then the GeoJourney program has run every year and taken 24 students around the country for BGSU course credit.
From its beginning in 1999 as a student run organization under the University Activities Organization, the BGSU Outdoor Program " has evolved into a valuable additional to campus life as a part of the Department of Recreational Sports. The OP, as it is often referred, offers outdoor trips, an indoor climbing wall, team-building, and an outdoor equipment rental center to BGSU students, faculty, staff and surrounding community members. In August 2008 the BGSU Outdoor Program introduced the Freshman Wilderness Experience. This program couples a week-long backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail with a monthly class to assist students in transitioning from high school to college life. In 2009 The Outdoor Program won the David J Web award for being an outstanding non-profit outdoor program by AORE
Bowling Green hosts an annual event for three days in February similar to other winter cities
Winter City
Winter City or Winter Cities is a concept for communities in northern latitudes that encourages them to plan their transportation systems, buildings, and recreation project around the idea of using their infrastructure during all four seasons, rather than just two seasons .-Background:The Livable...
to celebrate winter, snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
, and cold weather activities. Winterfest in Bowling Green centers around the rich ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
traditions of the town. Winterfest events are held all over Bowling Green, and on and off campus. Many of the on campus events are held at the BGSU Ice Arena
BGSU Ice Arena
The Bowling Green State University Ice Arena is a 5,000-seat hockey arena in Bowling Green, Ohio. It is home to the BGSU Falcons ice hockey team of the CCHA. It was built from 1965 to 1967 for a cost of $1.8 million and opened in February 1967...
, curling, skating, BGSU ice hockey
Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey
The Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey team is the ice hockey team that represents Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Falcons last played in the NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament in 1990...
and figure skating exhibitions are just a few of the events held during the weekend on campus.
Greek life
Bowling Green hosts many social fraternities and sororities. Greek student comprise 12% of all undergraduate students at the university. Fraternities and sororities are apart of one of four councils: Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC), Panhellenic Council (Panhel), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), or Multicultural Greek Council (MGC). IFC members include: Alpha Sigma PhiAlpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....
, Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
, Delta Chi
Delta Chi
Delta Chi or D-Chi is an international Greek letter college social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890,at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 29, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership social fraternity, eliminating the requirement for men...
, Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
, Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
, Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
, Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
, Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
, Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi
Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...
, Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
, Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
, Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
, Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
, Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
, & Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
. Panhel members include: Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
, Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...
, Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity was founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Alpha Phi currently has 152 active chapters and over 200,000 initiated members. Its celebrated Founders' Day is October 10. It was the third Greek-letter organization founded for women. In Alpha...
, Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...
, Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Chi Omega is a women's fraternity and the largest member of the National Panhellenic Conference. Chi Omega has 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters. Chi Omega's national headquarters is located in Memphis, Tennessee....
, Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
, Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...
, Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta is an international sorority that was founded on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The term "sorority," meaning sisterhood, was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.The four founders are Helen M. Dodge,...
, Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...
, Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
, Phi Mu
Phi Mu
Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...
, Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi
Pi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
, Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...
. NPHC members include eight of the Divine nine: Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
sorority, Iota Phi Theta fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
fraternity, Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...
fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
fraternity, & Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
sorority. MGC members include: Delta Lambda Phi
Delta Lambda Phi
Delta Lambda Phi is a national social fraternity for gay, bisexual, and progressive men. It offers a social environment and structure similar to other Greek-model college fraternities. Delta Lambda Phi was founded on October 15, 1986 by Vernon L. Strickland III in Washington, D.C. and incorporated...
fraternity (Gay, Bisexual and Progressive Men), Delta Xi Phi
Delta Xi Phi
Delta Xi Phi is a national multicultural Sorority that was founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by 15 women on April 20, 1994. The sorority comprises women from all ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Defined by diversity, Delta Xi Phi is not only...
sorority (Multicultural), Omega Phi Alpha
Omega Phi Alpha
Omega Phi Alpha is an American national service sorority. It was founded in 1967 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio...
sorority (service), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music...
fraternity, Sigma Lambda Beta
Sigma Lambda Beta
Sigma Lambda Beta is the largest Latino-based social fraternity established on cultural understanding and wisdom. Founded on April 4, 1986 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, the organization is committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, advance...
International fraternity, Inc, and Sigma Lambda Gamma
Sigma Lambda Gamma
Sigma Lambda Gamma ' is a historically Latina-based national sorority with multicultural membership founded on April 9, 1990, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.-History:...
sorority
Media and publications
The student operated, independent daily newspaper The BG News, which has been published since 1920. The BG News's web portal BG Views was launched in 2009. The university's independent, student operated yearbook was first published in 1918 as the Bee Gee. Publication stopped after 1918 for 6 years and in 1924 the yearbook resumed production under a new name, The KEY and was published every year since 1924 as the only comprehensive record of students, activities, and events for a given year. In 2008, the yearbook was replaced with a magazine, The Key Magazine. This is the only magazine sponsored by BGSU and fully run by BGSU students and supported by local advertising only. The campus is home to two student-operated radio stations as part of the Department of Telecommunications. WBGU 88.1 FM serves as an independent radioIndependent Radio
Independent radio indicates a radio station that is run in a manner different from usual for the country it broadcasts in. In countries where there exist government-run radio stations that served as the primary or only the variety of licensed broadcaster, the term independent radio generally means...
, non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
(NCE), FCC-licensed college radio station, while WFAL Falcon Radio
WFAL Falcon Radio
WFAL is located on the Campus of Bowling Green State University station in Bowling Green, Ohio. WFAL is one of Bowling Green State University's two college radio stations, along its sister station WBGU-FM....
, formerly WFAL 1610 AM, is a student-run commercial radio station. Bowling Green Radio News Organization (BGRNO)-BGRNO provides up-to-the minute radio news coverage Monday-Friday on WBGU-FM AND WFAL-AM. Students write, produce, and report live on the air the latest local and national news, sports and weather stories. Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO)-BGRSO broadcasts BGSU's football, hockey, men's and women's basketball, and baseball games on WBGU-FM and WFAL-AM. WBGU-FM is also the flagship station for women's basketball and hockey. BGSU is also home to BG24 News, a student-run television newscast airing live at 5:30pm three days a week.
Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, MAR is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University...
(MAR), published through the BGSU Department of English since 1980, is nationally recognized for publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Preceding MAR was Itinerary, a magazine that was established by editor Robert Early in 1972 to publish the works of BGSU's MFA students. However, the students tired of publishing nothing but their own work and suggested broadening into an international publication. Itinerary was retired in 1980 when the first issue of MAR was released. No BGSU student work is included in MAR (with the exception of occasional reviews of newly released literary titles). Prairie Margins is a national undergraduate literary journal published by students in the Creative Writing Program at BGSU. The annual journal features literary work by both BGSU students and undergraduate creative writers from other institutions. The Projector is a peer-reviewed electronic journal on film, media and culture published twice a year by the Department of Theatre & Film.
Traditions and events
- BGSU's official spirit crew is called SICSIC which began in 1946. New members are chosen during the end of their freshman year in order to replace that year's graduating seniors. SICSIC members are always masked and their identities are not revealed until the last home basketball game of their senior year, where they are unmasked in front of the student body.
- BGSU's official mascots are Freddie and Frieda Falcon. Freddie began appearing at athletic events in 1950. Frieda first appeared in 1966, but officially re-emerged in 1980.
- Buckeye Boys State - Bowling Green is the current home for the American LegionAmerican LegionThe American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
Buckeye Boys State, which gathers high-school students from all over OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
for a nine-day program. At Buckeye Boys State, the students operate a full governmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
modeled after the Government of OhioGovernment of OhioThe government of the state of Ohio comprises three branches executive, legislative, and judicial. Its basic structure is set forth in the Ohio Constitution.-Executive Branch:...
. Buckeye Boys State is held each June.
Alumni
BGSU has seen many of its former students go on to local and national prominence. This includes many athletes that have excelled at the collegiate and professional levels, including: Kevin BieksaKevin Bieksa
Kevin Christopher Bieksa is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League , serving as an alternate captain for the Canucks during away games...
, Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton (figure skater)
Scott Scovell Hamilton is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships , four consecutive World Championships and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics....
, Mike McCullough, Nate Thurmond
Nate Thurmond
Nathaniel "Nate" Thurmond is a retired American basketball player. Dominant at both center and power forward, he was a seven-time All-Star and the first player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double....
, Rob Blake
Rob Blake
Robert Bowlby Blake is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, appearing in the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy and serving as team captain for five seasons in his initial 11 season-stint with...
, Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
, Ken Morrow
Ken Morrow
Kenneth Arlington Morrow is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman and currently serves as the New York Islanders' director of pro scouting...
, Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen
Don Nehlen is a former American football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University and at West Virginia University . Nehlen retired from coaching college football in 2001 with a career record of 202–128–8 and as the 17th winningest coach in...
, Jordan Sigalet
Jordan Sigalet
Jordan Marvin Sigalet is a retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender.-Career:Sigalet ended the 2003 NCAA hockey season by playing his team's last game while feeling numbness across his entire body...
, and George McPhee
George McPhee
George McPhee is the general manager of the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals as well as the team's alternate governor and vice president...
. In addition, many state politicians have graduated from Bowling Green, including current Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, former Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon
Daniel Ayalon
Daniel "Danny" Ayalon is an Israeli politician who currently serves as Deputy Foreign Minister and as a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu...
, and current Ohio state senators Randy Gardner
Randy Gardner (Ohio politician)
Randall L. Gardner is an American politician, currently a Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 6th District since 2008. He formerly held the same seat from 1985 to 2000, and was a member of the Ohio Senate from 2001 to 2008...
and Kevin Coughlin
Kevin Coughlin
Kevin J. Coughlin is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, who represented the 27th District from 2001 to 2010. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 until 2000...
. Other notable alumni include actress Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
, author Philana Marie Boles
Philana Marie Boles
Philana Marie Boles is the author of the young adult novel Glitz , the 'tween novel , and the adult novels Blame It on Eve and In the Paint...
, NYU economic professor William Easterly
William Easterly
William Russell Easterly is an American economist, specializing in economic growth and foreign aid. He is a Professor of Economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Tim Conway
Tim Conway
Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...
, Group President for Discovery Communications Eileen O'Neill, ESPN sportscasters Jay Crawford
Jay Crawford
Jason "Jay" Crawford is the co-host of ESPN2's morning TV show First Take.-Early life and career:Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Crawford graduated from Perkins High School in Sandusky, Ohio in 1983...
and Jason Jackson
Jason Jackson
Jason Jackson is an American sportscaster and writer. He worked for ESPN from 1995 until 2002, best known as the host of NBA 2Night. Jackson was fired from ESPN in May 2002 for violating company policy...
, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
Correspondent Steve Hartman
Steve Hartman
Stephen Robert "Steve" Hartman is a television journalist.Steve Hartman attended a Catholic Elementary School in Little Flower Parish of Toledo, Ohio that has since been consolidated to "Saint Benedict Catholic Elementary School"....
, TCU
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
Chancellor Dr. Victor J. Boschini
Victor Boschini
Victor J. Boschini, Jr., is the current chancellor at Texas Christian University. He assumed office as the university's tenth chancellor on June 1, 2003. He also holds the rank of professor of education....
and Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
President and CEO Shantanu Narayen
Shantanu Narayen
Shantanu Narayen is the current CEO of Adobe Systems. Prior to this post, he held the role as the President and Chief Operating Officer since 2005.-Early life:...
, and Colonel Brenda Joyce Hollis (Ret., U.S. Air Force) who was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame for her efforts as an international criminal prosecutor who was a pivotal figure during the Yugoslav Tribunal in 1994 — the first international trials in which rape was categorized as torture and recognized as a war crime. Col. Hollis was recently appointed as prosecutor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone by the United Nations Secretary-General.