Bowling Green State University



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 acre main academic and residential campus is located 22 mi 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 mi 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 BGSU 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.

Early history
Originally known as Bowling Green State Normal School, it was one of several institutions established in the Progressive Era to meet demands for training and professional development of teachers. Classes began in 1914, enrolling 304 students 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 addition of graduate programs and the College of Business Administration helped to raise the status of the institution from the college level when it was designated Bowling Green State University in 1935. With continued growth, the Graduate School 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 Services 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.

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. Ribeau (1995–2008), and Carol A. Cartwright (2008–2011), and Mary Ellen Mazey (2011-present).

Campus
The main academic and resedential campus of Bowling Green State is located on the Northeast side of Bowling Green, Ohio. 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 acre. 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.

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 95,000 sqft 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 93,000 sqft 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.

Athletic and Recreation Facilities
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 185,000 sqft 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 127,000 sqft 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.

Transportation
The campus fare-free bus transit system began in 1990 and that runs throughout campus and Bowling Green, Ohio. 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 Erie, 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 mi 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 Sciences, 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.

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 three 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 at Bowling Green, it is a philanthropic event on an enormous scale to benefit ill or injured children at the Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo via the Children's Miracle Network. 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. 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, after a month-long stint as writer-in-residence in 1978.

Athletics
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 mi 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.

Student life
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.

Greek Life
Bowling Green hosts 40 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 Independent Greek Council (IGC). IFC members include: Alpha Sigma Phi, 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, Phi Kappa Tau, 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. IGC 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 fraternity, and Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority

Student media 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 Department of Telecommunications ran student operated, independent radio, non-commercial educational (NCE), FCC-licensed college radio station is WBGU 88.1 FM and the student operated, commercial radio station is WFAL Falcon Radio. BGSU is also home to BG24 News, a student-run television newscast airing live at 5:30pm three days a week.
 * 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.
 * 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.

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 Legion Buckeye Boys State, which gathers high-school students from all over Ohio for a nine-day program. At Buckeye Boys State, the students operate a full government modeled after the Government of Ohio. 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 Bieksa, 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 Rob Groulx actress Eva Marie Saint, author Philana Marie Boles, NYU economic professor William Easterly, actor Tim Conway, 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.