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60 Facts about Ohio University Eastern

1) 2017 marks Ohio University Eastern’s 60th anniversary.

2) The city of Martins Ferry became the initial location of the university campus established in eastern Ohio.

3) Under the leadership of the Belmont County Board of Commissioners and Consolidated Coal Co., more than 330 acres of land were dedicated along National Road near St. Clairsville as an educational site on what was once an experimental agricultural farm.

4) Shannon Hall, the main academic building on the campus, a science and engineering building and a Health and Physical Education Recreation Community Center was established in 1997, complete the present-day setting of the campus.

5) The grounds are also home to a one-room schoolhouse, an 1800s tavern/roadhouse used by those traveling the National Road and a covered bridge on the eastern side of the campus property.

6) Dysart Woods is also a part of Ohio University.

7) The campus is only 15 minutes from downtown Wheeling and five minutes west of the Ohio Valley Mall.

8) Students from West Virginia can go to school at OUE for in-state rates.

9) Being part of Ohio University, all of tenure-track faculty members have doctoral degrees.

10) OUE has 13 bachelor’s degrees that you can complete on the campus.

11) When students finish their degree at OUE, they receive an Ohio University degree, the exact same credentials as students attending classes on the main campus in Athens.

12) You can start any of Ohio University’s 250 degrees at the OUE campus before relocating to the main campus.

13) OUE has intercollegiate athletics. The current teams are volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and golf. In the past, OUE has had cheerleading and cross country.

14) OUE teams have won a total of 21 Ohio Regional Campus Conference Championships or Ohio Regional State Championships since 1990. Women’s basketball has led the way with 14 titles, followed by men’s basketball and golf with three each and volleyball with one championship.

15) Warren Galbreath, associate professor of social work, was the first regional campus faculty member to chair an Ohio University department (Social Work).

16) OUE’s average class size is 14

17) The Theater Department has two play productions each year and holds open community auditions for each play.

18) The Health & Physical Education Center was dedicated in 1997.

19) Former dean Rich Greenlee plays many instruments, including the banjo.

20) Sarah Mahan-Hays, associate professor of communications, is the lead singer in her own band — The Sarah Hays Band.

21) More than 1,200 students were enrolled at OUE in fall 2016.

22) The student body is made up of 31.9 percent first-generation college students.

23) A total of 26 percent of OUE students receive Pell grants.

24) The student body includes 30 percent non-traditional students, or those over 26 years of age.

25) OUE is responsible for a $10 million annual economic output.

26) The campus has 110 College Credit Plus high school students enrolled.

27) There are three “2+2” degrees for those who already have an associate degree — applied management, criminal justice and technical and applied studies.

28) Recent OUE graduates have been accepted into medical school, law school and other graduate programs.

29) The campus has a cadaver lab, the only one of its kind in the Upper Ohio Valley.

30) OUE’s clinical teaching model gives experience to early and middle childhood education majors through extensive contact with local schools.

31) OUE’s graduates include a recent West Virginia Teacher of the Year.

32) Applied management and health services administration majors complete internships at local businesses and hospitals.

33) Applied management students founded the Shark Challenge, a competition in which younger students pitch innovative ideas.

34) OUE partners with TechGROWTH and Belmont Community Improvement Corp. on the Shark Challenge.

35) OUE collaborates with Belmont College on state RAPIDS grants for job training equipment in high-demand occupational areas.

36) OUE’s educational faculty collaborate with local schools on training.

37) The campus Rotaract club engages in Rotary projects in the local area.

38) The campus hosts a variety of public cultural events and activities each year.

39) The 3,500-seat Health & Physical Education Center hosts a number of large community events each year.

40) President Donald Trump made a stop at the campus and spoke to a large crowd while on the campaign trail in 2016.

41) OUE was the site of the local area’s inaugural Juneteenth celebration in 2016.

42) The campus used to feature tennis courts along the driveway to Shannon Hall.

43) The local outpost of the university has also been known by the names “Ohio University Martin’s Ferry,” “Ohio University Belmont” and “The Branch.”

44) The branch campus has a longtime relationship with the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference and has hosted high school girls and boys basketball championships annually. The campus also hosts the OVAC Ohio vs. West Virginia boys and girls All-Star games each year.

45) This year also marks 50 years at the campus in St Clairsville as well as 50 years since Shannon Hall was constructed.

46) It has been 20 years since the Health and Physical Education Center was built.

47) OUE started the OUE-OVAC scholar athlete scholarship.

48) The campus frequently hosts community events, such as political debates and opportunities to meet candidates for office.

49) OUE also plays host to educational events for public school children, including the annual Belmont County Spelling Bee.

50) The goal of the 60th anniversary celebration is to raise $60,000 for endowments to benefit future students.

51) OUE participates in classes with other regional Ohio University campuses via compressed video and online connections.

52) OUE has attracted students from as far away as Florida, Colorado, Mexico, Spain and Moscow.

53) The most popular majors at OUE include applied management, exercises physiology and early childhood education.

54) The students retention rate at OUE is among the highest in the regional campus system, despite not having technical associate degree programs.

55) Shannon Hall is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

56) Shannon Hall is named after Wilson Shannon, the first Ohio governor who was born in the Buckeye State.

57) The Eastern campus is the only OU regional campus to offer the exercise physiology major. Many program graduates have continued to study physical therapy. Others have continued to medicine, occupational therapy and physician assistant programs.

58) The campus participates and plays a leadership role with the Ohio Valley Higher Education Research Consortium. Its current research focus is on the opioid crisis. Glidden Foundation Visiting Professor Orman Hall, a public health analyst with the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency, is based at OUE this fall semester.

59) The 1800s schoolhouse on campus is home to historical activities for grade school students, hosted by the Questers.

60) The covered bridge on site brings many visitors to campus and is the planned centerpiece of a future walking path for the campus and community.

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