Bowling Green State University history

Classes did not begin, and faculty hired, until Bowling Green State Normal College opened in 1914.

The school graduated its first class in 1915, consisting of 35 certified teachers.

The university's independent, student operated yearbook was first published in 1918 but stopped after one edition for six years.

On March 28, 1920 a tornado, part of the 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, damaged three of the school's buildings.

The normal school grew rapidly from the beginning and was able to become a college in 1929.

A few years later, in May 1935, the college was granted university status and changed its name to Bowling Green State University.

In 1939, the university established The Committee for Gifts, Endowments, and Memorials, its first private endowment fund.

SICSIC is an official spirit organization at BGSU that began in 1946 by President Frank J. Prout.

The BGSU Army ROTC was established on campus in 1948 as enrollment increased dramatically in the post war era.

By 1950, enrollment grew to new record highs, with over 5,000 students.

1951 saw major changes when Ralph W. McDonald was appointed the fourth president in school history, following the retirement of Frank Prout.

The new student center opened in 1958, after four years of construction at a cost of $2.75 million.

Former BGSU head football coach Doyt Perry led the Falcons to the NCAA "Small College" Football National Title and undefeated season in 1959.

Memorial Hall, later known as Anderson Arena, opened in 1960.

By 1965, BGSU's College of Education enrolled 5,470 students and was ranked the 16th largest producer of teachers in the United States.

Firelands College, a branch campus in Huron, Ohio, opened in 1967.

In addition to the new colleges, the BGSU Popular Culture Center opened in 1970 as one of the first pop culture centers in the United States.

In 1975, the School of Music was expanded into the College of Musical Arts, and in the same year the Graduate School became the Graduate College.

Dedicated to BGSU in 1976, it features early film memorabilia and highlights the careers of both Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish.

In 1979, the Student Recreation Center and the Moore Musical Arts Center opened.

The annual journal features literary work by both BGSU students and undergraduate creative writers from other institutions. It was created in 1980 when the format changed from a student-published literary magazine, known as the Itinerary, to an international publication.

The School of Technology was given college status in 1985 and renamed the College of Technology.

The campus fare-free bus transit system began in 1990 and runs throughout the campus and surrounding neighborhoods.

East Hall opened in 1998.

The new Bowen-Thompson Student Union, reopened in early 2002, provides space for the offices of student life and campus involvement as well as approximately 40 student organizations.

In 2003, Cedar Point Center opened its doors on the Firelands campus.

In August 2008 the program introduced the Freshman Wilderness Experience, which 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.

The BGSU Center for Sustainability and the Environment was named as one of Ohio’s Centers of Excellence in advanced energy by the Ohio Board of Regents in October 2009.

The 93,000-square-foot (8,600 m) facility opened in 2011 with 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.