Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University is a public research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The 1,338-acre (541.5 ha) main academic and residential campus is located 22 miles (35 km) south of Toledo, Ohio. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education, as part of the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized two new normal schools in the state of Ohio. Over the university's history, it developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public university.

As of 2012 Bowling Green offered over 200 undergraduate programs, as well as master's and doctoral degrees through eight academic colleges. Its academic programs have been nationally ranked by Forbes magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and Washington Monthly. The 2011 Carnegie Foundation classified BGSU as having "high research activity". Research projects in the areas of psychology, sociology, education and human development, energy and sustainability are among the most prominent. BGSU had an on-campus residential student population of 6,500 students and a total student population of over 17,000 students as of 2011. The university also maintains a satellite campus, known as BGSU Firelands, in Huron, Ohio, 60 miles (97 km) east of the main campus. Although the majority of students attend classes on BGSU's main campus, about 2,500 students attend classes at Firelands and about 1,000 additional students at extension locations or online. About 85% of Bowling Green's students are from Ohio.

The university hosts an extensive student life program, with over 300 student organizations. Fielding athletic teams known as Bowling Green Falcons, the university competes at the NCAA Division I level (NCAA Division I FBS for football) as a member of the Mid-American Conference in all sports except ice hockey, in which the university is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The campus is home to annual events including the Dance Marathon a student-organized philanthropy event, Winterfest, and Buckeye Boys State.

History

Early history

The movement for a public high learning institution in northwestern Ohio began in the late 1800s as part of the growth in public institutions during the Progressive Era to meet demands for training and professional development of teachers. During the period, people of northwestern Ohio campaigned for a school in their region to produce better quality education and educators. The movement argued that the existing universities, The Ohio State University in Columbus, Miami University in Oxford and Ohio University in Athens, were distant and the region lacked a state-supported school of its own.

In 1910, the Ohio General Assembly passed the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized Governor Judson Harmon to appoint the Commission on Normal School Sites to survey forty communities for two sites for normal schools, one in northeastern Ohio and one in northwestern Ohio. The commission examined population within a 25-mile (40.2 km) radius of each community, along with railroad and transportation infrastructure, the moral atmosphere, health and sanitary conditions and site suitability. Bowling Green offered four possible sites and became one of four finalists including Fremont, Napoleon, and Van Wert. Despite the town being the home of John Lowry, Napoleon was ruled out because the commission found it had numerous saloons. Fremont was eliminated mainly due to the specific stipulations imposed by the President Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Commission. Bowling Green was chosen on November 10, 1910 over Van Wert in a 3â€"2 vote by the commission. The site located on 82.5 acres (0.334 km²) of primarily rural land and a small town park, nearby railroad and transportation infrastructure, its central location in the region, and Bowling Green's dry status were major factors that the town was chosen by the commission. At the same time, the commission chose Kent for a school in Northeastern Ohio. Over the years 1911 and 1912, the Board of Trustees was appointed by the Governor and elected a school president on February 16, 1912. A campus plan was created and $150,000 was appropriated to develop the campus and construct the first buildings.

The school opened on September 15, 1914 as Bowling Green State Normal School in two temporary locations at the Bowling Green Armory and at a branch school in Toledo for the 1914â€"1915 academic year. It initially enrolled 304 students from Ohio, Michigan, and New York who were taught by 21 faculty members. The school graduated its first class in 1915, consisting of 35 certified teachers. University Hall and Williams Hall opened that year, the school's first two permanent buildings. Two years later the first baccalaureate degrees for teacher education were awarded. On March 28, 1920 a tornado, part of the 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, damaged three of the school's buildings. The tornado touched down near Bowling Green and strengthened as it moved into Ottawa County where it killed two people in Genoa.

Early growth and development

Over the next decade the school expanded academic facilities, athletics and student life, as enrollment grew to over 900 students. On October 28, 1927, Ivan "Doc" Lake, a BGSU graduate and sports editor of the Daily Sentinel-Tribune, established the nickname “Falcons". Lake thought the falcon was a fitting nickname because the falcon is a small but powerful bird of prey, and like the athletes, goes through extensive preparations and training. He also thought the nickname fit with the school's colors. Prior to Lake's creation of the nickname, sports writers used various others, including: “B.G. Normals,” “Teachers,” and the “B.G. Pedagogues". The school achieved the status of college in 1929 when the Emmons-Hanna Bill changed renamed it to Bowling Green State College (BGSC). At the same time, the college expanded its curriculum through the addition of the College of Liberal Arts, now known as the College of Arts and Sciences.

Enrollment levels held steady into the Great Depression; but in 1933, the Ohio State Senate Welfare Commission proposed a plan to convert the school into a mental health institution. Students, faculty and administrators organized with the Bowling Green community to counter the proposal. The Student Protest Committee coordinated with the faculty and administration to organize a campus rally and march through the downtown Bowling Green. Members of the Protest Committee then launched a letter-writing campaign to community leaders throughout northwest Ohio, which helped convince the state legislature that closing the school would be counterproductive. The measure was defeated by a 14â€"5 vote. A few years later, in May 1935, the college was granted university status and changed its name to Bowling Green State University. The university added the College of Business Administration to the existing College of Education and College of Liberal Arts. Within a year BGSU added master’s degree programs in Education, English, History, Social Science and Mathematics. In 1939, the university established The Committee for Gifts, Endowments, and Memorials, its first private endowment fund.

World War II, Post-war era expansion

The 1940s, including World War II and its aftermath, brought big changes to BGSU. The war caused a drastic decrease in male enrollment and by 1943, the university canceled dances and formals, citing the lack of male students. The university continued expanding facilities including its first student union, The Falcon’s Nest, and new cottage-style dorms for social groups and learning-living communities, and dedication of the Wood County airport. Bowling Green was one of 240 colleges and universities to take part in the V-5 and V-12 Navy College Training Programs to supplement the lower enrollment during the war. The programs offered students a path to a Navy commission, enrolling cadets in regular college courses as well as naval training. Faculty were added to accommodate the military training programs. Student life adapted to the wartime era with efforts such as the War Relief Committee, blood drives and War Bonds initiatives.

In the post-war era, BGSU constructed temporary structures to keep up with the increased housing demands for veterans and their families. BGSU added 40 trailers to house male and married students in 1945, known as "Falcon Heights". In 1946, the university added 15 steel buildings to house male students in an area near the football stadium that became known as "Tin Pan Alley". By the late 1940s, the student house shortage became so severe that the nearby National Guard Armory and ODOT garage were converted to house male students. The Federal Housing Authority provided two wooden barracks, ten trailers, and more steel buildings. The BGSU Army ROTC was established on campus in 1948 as enrollment increased dramatically in the post war era. The university continued to add academic programs as the enrollment increased during the mid to late 1940s, including the Graduate School in 1948 after Dr. Emerson Shuck led the effort to create school. By 1950, enrollment grew to new record highs, with over 5,000 students.

McDonald era

1951 saw major changes when Ralph W. McDonald was appointed the fourth president in school history, following the retirement of Frank Prout. McDonald was the first university president from outside Ohio and came to BGSU with a focus on improving teacher education and certification standards. Prior to becoming president, he served as the Executive Secretary of the Department of Higher Education of the National Education Association for seven years. Under McDonald, BGSU reorganized its three colleges to group common departments together within each college. Reflecting the Cold War era, BGSU added an Air Force ROTC program and a Department of Air Science and Tactics. BGSU continued to add programs and in the early 1950s added a Master of Education (M.Ed.) and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Education. The university constructed new residence halls during the decade, Prout Hall in 1955 and Founders Quadrangle in 1957. The new student center opened in 1958, after four years of construction at a cost of $2.75 million. In the years 2012-2014, the residence hall was renovated and remodeled. This renovation updated the rooms, bathrooms, lobbies and outside sidewalks and walkways.

1960â€"1990: Diverse Growth

The College of Education experienced rapid growth and expansion during the 1960s when the university added various specialized education programs, including majors in special education, school psychology, guidance and counseling and vocational rehabilitation counseling. It expanded arts and music programs when the music department became the College of Education's first "school", renamed the School of Music in 1961. Specializations in guidance and counseling were added to the Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees in 1964; as well as a new department for teaching college administration. By 1965, BGSU's College of Education enrolled 5,470 students and was ranked the 16th largest producer of teachers in the United States. The university added new academic, administrative, and athletic facilities during the 1960s. Memorial Hall, later known as Anderson Arena, opened in 1960. The new Administration Building opened in 1964 and the William T. Jerome Library opened in 1967.

Student activism became common in the 1960s, reflecting the various social and political events of the time period. Vietnam War protests were common in downtown Bowling Green and on campus. In 1969, a Black Student Union formed to encourage unity, scholarship, leadership, culture and political awareness of African Americans students. The majority of student activism at BGSU was peaceful and Bowling Green was the only public college or university in Ohio to remain open in the spring of 1970, following the Kent State shootings during anti-war protests.

Bowling Green added two colleges in the early 1970s when the College of Health and Human Services opened in 1973 and the School of Music was elevated to the College of Musical Arts in 1975. 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 1978, the university established the University Honors Program.

Throughout the 1970s construction continued, starting with the Mathematical Sciences Building, followed by the Offenhauer Towers in 1971 and Industrial Education & Technology Building in 1972. The Business Building and the Industrial Arts Building opened in 1973 and University Hall received renovations in 1974 that included new seating, an improved sound system, and air conditioning in the auditorium. In 1979, the Student Recreation Center and the Moore Musical Arts Center opened. In 1970, the Board of Trustees ended an alcoholic beverage ban on campus. The Cardinal Room, an on-campus eatery, began serving beer. A growing trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s was the development of large apartment complexes adjacent to campus. By the 1970s approximately 4,000 students lived in private, off-campus housing. On campus, Darrow Hall became the first co-ed dorm in 1972 with men and women inhabiting alternating floors.

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.

Recent history

During the 1990s the university renovated and constructed many buildings. 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. East Hall opened in 1998. All residence halls received wiring for Ethernet connections.

In 2008, the university began the first phase of a $200 million renovation project. BGSU first announced plans for the Stroh Center, a 5,000-seat arena to replace the aging Anderson Arena. The $36 million arena opened in September 2011, hosting basketball and volleyball; in addition to graduation ceremonies, concerts and other events. The arena was named for Kermit Stroh and Mary Lu Stroh, who donated $7.7 million for the project, the largest single private gift in BGSU's history. In 2009 the university began construction on the Wolfe Center for the Arts. The 93,000-square-foot (8,600 m²) 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. The facility was designed by Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta, the firm's first American project. That same year, BGSU built a $40 million residence hall project that included two new residence halls, one a traditional-style dorm and a second suite-style for upperclassmen. The residence hall project added more than 800 beds. In the fall of 2011, BGSU opened The Oaks dining hall. The Oaks was constructed with sustainable designs that included a hybrid solar and wind power system to fulfill Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an electric-powered truck to distribute food on campus, and a rooftop garden. The building used sustainable and recycled construction materials.

Campuses

Main

The main academic and residential campus is located on the northeast side of Bowling Green. The campus is arranged in a rectangle roughly one and a half miles long and one mile wide. It includes over 116 buildings on 1,338 acres (5.41 km²). The campus is bordered by Wooster Street to the south, Thurstin Avenue to the west, Poe Road to the north, and I-75 to the east. The university also owns 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.

The oldest portion of the BGSU campus is located in the southwest corner. It contains the oldest buildings on campus and was the original location. This area offers green space with large trees and historic buildings built in the early 1900s. Administrative services and classrooms occupy these buildings. Although not part of the historic section, Founders Hall, a large dorm, is located on the Southwest corner. Hanna Hall houses The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater and Gallery. Dedicated to BGSU in 1976, it features early film memorabilia and highlights the careers of both Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish. The theater was renovated and rededicated in 1990. It seats 168 and is home to Tuesdays at the Gish, an International Film Series, and a Sunday Matinee Series, which are all free and open to the community.

The Science Research Complex is located on the northwest side of campus. The buildings of the science research complex were built in the mid-60s. They include Mathematical Science, Life Science, Psychology, Physical Science, and Technology (engineering). The Geology, Chemistry and Earth Science departments are located in Overman Hall there.

Three large residence halls occupy the western edge of campus. The Offenhauer Towers consist of a ten-story and an eleven-story tower, connected by a first-floor lobby. Offenhauer shelters a small grocery store called Outtakes Quick Cuisine. McDonald Hall houses over 1,200 students and an eco-friendly dining facility known as The Oaks. Falcon Heights, a new residence hall, was added in 2011 across the street.

The Bowen-Thompson Student Union opened in 2002 in the west-central part of campus. It houses eateries including The Falcon's Nest food court, Starbucks and The Black Swamp 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, ballrooms, and various student lounges.

Central Campus features large lecture halls and classroom buildings. One of the most prominent is the 95,000 sq ft (9,000 m²) Olscamp Hall, which contains 28 classrooms and lecture halls capable of seating a total of 2,000 students. Others include Business Administration, Education, Math/Science and the Eppler Complex, home to the Sport Management department. Anderson Arena is a 5,000-seat arena, home for BGSU men's and women's basketball and women's gymnastics and volleyball. Memorial Hall is connected to Anderson and houses the college's ROTC programs. Jerome Library is the main library on campus and the second tallest building at nine stories. Conklin North, previously known as Rodgers Quadrangle, is another residence hall in the central portion of campus. Oak Grove Cemetery is located in the north-central portion of campus. Student Health Services was once located next to the cemetery but now is located off campus near the Education building.

The BGSU campus police station as well as counseling services are located in the College Park Office Building on the southern edge. Kohl Hall is a dormitory exclusive to members of the Chapman Learning Community, Partners in Context and Community for Urban Educators. A new, predominately freshman dormitory known as Centennial Hall was established in 2011 and is equipped with its own dining hall, known as Carillon Place Dining. The southern edge hosts on-campus fraternity and sorority houses, although the majority of sororities are near the Student Union on the western edge.

Arts programs are located to the east of Anderson Arena and Jerome Library in the east-central area. The Fine Arts Center is home to the School of Art and houses classrooms, a studio, workshop spaces, art galleries a glassblowing studio and faculty offices. BGSU is one of only a few schools that offer degrees in glassblowing. The Moore Musical Arts Center is located along Ridge St and is the home to the College of Musical Arts. Moore includes classrooms, recording studios, rehearsal halls, and Kobacker Hall, a large theater where many performances on campus are held. Moore also includes MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music, a national center with a focus on the study, performance, creative work and promotion of contemporary music. The Wolfe Center for the Arts opened in December 2011. It is the new centerpiece for the Arts, located between Fine Arts and Moore. The 93,000 sq ft (9,000 m²) building houses the School of Art, the Department of Theatre and Film, and the School of Musical Arts. It includes classrooms, rehearsal space, performance/theater space, as well as design and office space, the 400-seat Thomas and Kathleen Donnell Theatre, and a black-box stage, editing and digital laboratories, classrooms, studios, faculty space, and choral rehearsal rooms.

Nearby are two identical residence halls known as the Harshman Quadrangle and the Kreischer Quadrangle, separated by a large field. Each quadrangle contains four connected halls that operate as separate units. In the Harshman Quadrangle, these units are identified as Anderson, Bromfield, Chapman, and Dunbar. In Kreischer, the halls are known as Ashley, Batchelder, Compton, and Darrow. Kreischer features a popular dining hall called The Sundial as well as an Outtakes store in Kreischer-Ashley. Kreischer-Compton is home to the Arts Village Learning Community, for students with interests in dance, art, creative writing, theater, or music. This community offers members-only classes. Bowling Green State University opened the Falcon health center in 2013, after demolishing the Popular Culture building in 2012.

Athletic and recreation facilities

Most athletic and recreation facilities are located on the eastern half of campus. The Student Recreation Center is a 185,000 sq ft (17,000 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. North of the center lies Perry Field House, a 127,000 sq ft (12,000 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. The rink is also home to the Black Swamp Ice Frogs, a special needs hockey team. The arena also includes a smaller ice sheet for curling, figure skating, youth ice hockey, and public skating. The Eppler complex is the oldest building on campus for athletics and is the main practice area for cheerleading, gymnastics, dancing and fencing. At one time it housed the original natatorium. Doyt Perry Stadium is a 28,600 seat football stadium located on the eastern edge. 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 is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings on campus, designed to achieve challenging Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. There is also the Poe Ditch Rugby field on the north side of campus on Poe Road. BGSU is also home to Forrest Creason Golf Course located on the Northeast portion of campus. It is located to the North of Doyt Perry Stadium. The course is run by Kurt Thomas. The course is open to the public and offers great venues of campus and the surrounding area of Bowling Green. [2]

Transportation and safety

The campus fare-free bus transit system began in 1990 and runs throughout the campus and surrounding neighborhoods. In 2005 the university started testing Hybrid buses on the service's main route. The first hybrid bus on the system used a proprietary diesel-electric propulsion system, known as a Hybrid Booster Drive (HBD), and was developed by the Electric Vehicle Institute (EVI) within the BGSU College of Technology. The system is made up of four routes. It includes major stops at various residence halls, academic buildings and athletic buildings. The campus has a phone application that allows the students to track the location of the different buses around campus. This application also gives an estimated time on the buses arrival to the bus stops.

The Orange Bike program began in 2008 as part of an increase in campus sustainability. The program operates a community bikeshare system to reduce the carbon footprint of students' commutes across campus. Riders register once and have the option to ride an Orange Bike anywhere on-campus, lock it up at any university bike rack for other riders.

The University Police Department provides 24-hour law enforcement and security, campus escort service, motorist assistance, educational programs, and crime prevention information for the BGSU campus and surrounding areas. The department is staffed by 24 full-time, state-certified police officers granted full police authority by the Ohio Revised Code. In addition to the officers, the department includes a student safety services staff that provides services for the university community, such as crowd control and the campus escort service. The department deploys uniformed officers to patrol the campus in marked police cars, bicycles, and on foot and has a mutual aid agreement with the Bowling Green City Police and with all other state university police departments in Ohio.

BGSU Firelands

The college is located in Huron, Ohio, about 60 miles (97 km) east of Bowling Green. BGSU Firelands is a non-residential, commuter school and accommodates approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students served by 51 full-time faculty members, as well as part-time faculty. BGSU Firelands has a 20:1 student-faculty ratio. Approximately 32% of Fireland's student population is "nontraditional" (over age 25). The college offers fifteen associate degrees in 22 areas of study and prepares students for transfer to bachelor’s programs or for entry into the job market in technical or paraprofessional areas. The college also offers nine on-site bachelor's degree programs in Early Childhood Education, Criminal Justice, Business Administration, Liberal Studies, Visual Communication Technology, Applied Health Science, Nursing, and Advanced Tech Ed. Students can take general education classes towards BGSU majors at the main campus classes or transferring to another four-year institution.

First offered in 1946 in the Sandusky 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. The college was established at a site located near Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio when the first building (now Foundation Hall) was opened. In 2003, Cedar Point Center opened its doors on the Firelands campus. The facility houses a 450-seat divisible public meeting area, smaller conference rooms, a cyber cafe, multimedia classrooms, and two distance learning classrooms. In March 2011, BGSU Firelands unveiled a new master plan calling for the construction of three buildings to handle more students, more college/community partnerships; and expand the James H. McBride Arboretum to the entire campus.

Academics and organization

Bowling Green State University offers more than 200 undergraduate majors and confers degrees. BGSU has full accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Bowling Green has been fully accredited by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning Commission since 1916 and received its ten-year renewal in 2002â€"2003. In addition, BGSU has accreditation from the HLC to offer full degree programs online. The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its eight colleges:

For the 2011â€"12 academic year, the university was ranked 177th by U.S. News & World Report's National University Rankings of America's Best Colleges 2012, 162nd by The Washington Monthly's rankings of, and 481st by Forbes rankings of America's Top Colleges. In addition, BGSU was ranked 97th on the Top Public Schools ranking by U.S. News & World Report. BGSU remains a leader in teacher preparation and was ranked 127th among America's Best Education Schools by U.S. News & World Report. 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 â€" 9), Adolescent-Young Adult (grades 7 â€" 12), Special Education (grades K â€" 12), and foreign language (grades K â€" 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 & World Report.

BGSU offered the nation's first PhD program in photochemical science, the first Ph.D. program in applied philosophy, one of the first undergraduate programs in neuroscience, the first master's 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. BGSU opened a satellite campus offering MBA classes at Owens State Community College in Findlay, Ohio in January 2013.

Tuition and graduation rates

Fall 2012 undergraduate tuition for the main campus costs are $371.40 dollars per credit hour for in-state tuition while out-of-state tuition is $676.40 per credit hour. The prices for undergraduate main campus tuition and fees are a 3.5% increase from the 2011â€"12 academic year. The increase in tuition was in response to a $2.8 million cut from the state funding. Fall 2012 graduate tuition costs are $485.00 per credit hour for in-state tuition, and out-of-state tuition is $790.00 per credit hour.

The six-year graduation rate for the university's main campus was 61 percent. Bowling Green State University's six-year graduation rate exceeded its predicted rate of 47 percent. The university's was named in the top five positive differences between actual and expected graduation rates of similar public universities by U.S. News & World Report. Graduation rates for by race among this group are 60 percent unknown race, 60 percent white, 55 percent Asian-American, 50 percent African-American, 50 percent international students, 48 percent Hispanic-American, and 43 percent Native American students.

Faculty and Research

BGSU has a student-faculty ratio of 20:1. The university currently has 1,982 academic staff, including 797 full-time faculty, 312 adjunct faculty, and 873 graduate assistant and research staff. Since November 2010, BGSU full-time faculty have been represented in collective bargaining by the BGSU Faculty Association, a chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

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.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classified Bowling Green State University as a Doctorate-granting Research University with high research activity. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, BGSU received about $8.1 million in research funds from federal, university, private and others sources with over 52% from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Education. Research projects in the areas of Psychology, Sociology, Education and Human Development, Energy and Sustainability, are among the University's most prominent.

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 center conducts research on renewable energy such as solar energy and wind generation on Lake Erie, energy conversion, and using algae to generate biofuel. Research in conjunction with the University of Toledo created new ways to effectively determine appropriate Ohio windmill sites.

In 2010, BGSU's Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan Center was named as a Center for Excellence by the Ohio Board of Regents. The Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan primarily focuses on research pertaining to areas such as physical health, substance use and abuse, mental health, voice and speech science, family and marriage research, and health communication. It houses the first National Center for Family & Marriage Research, established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with the Center for Family and Demographic Research, which received long-term funding by the National Institutes of Health for voice and speech science research.

Presidents

BGSU has had many Presidents, some of them are distinguished:

Athletics

Bowling Green's athletic teams are known as the Falcons. The university participates in NCAA Division I (Division I-A for football) as a member of the Mid-American Conference and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for ice hockey. 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' main rivals are the Rockets of the University of Toledo. Separated by just 20 miles (32 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, a Native American peace pipe placed upon a wood tablet. The university sponsors 18 athletic teams: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross county, football, men's and women's golf, women's gymnastics, men's ice hockey, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's swimming, women's tennis, women's track and field, and women's volleyball.

The Falcons women's basketball teams had recent postseason success. The team won conference championships in women's basketball in 2005, 2006, and 2007. At the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the Falcons lost in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but then reached the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2007. 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 Perry led the Falcons to the NCAA "Small College" Football National Title and undefeated season in 1959. Several BGSU coaches went on to prominent careers. 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 2007 and 2009. Hockey coach Jerry York became the winningest active coach in NCAA hockey, winning four NCAA National Championships at Boston College in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012 after his Bowling Green championship in 1984.

Club Sports and Events

BGSU offers a variety of sports at the club level. Men's sports include cross country/track and field, rugby, lacrosse, baseball, basketball, soccer and ice hockey. Women's club sports include rugby, cross country/track and field, Lacrosse, soccer, softball, equestrian and gymnastics. In recent years, the club rugby team has been very successful. Also, in April 2011, BGSU hosted the National Club Track and Field Championships at Whittaker Track on the east end of campus.

Student life

Ohio residents account for 85% of the undergraduate student population while out-of-state students come from all 50 US states and 70 foreign countries. The student body consists of 54% women and 46% men, of which, 22% are either of international origin or members of ethnic minority groups. Bowling Green had an on-campus residential student population of 6,500 students as of 2011. Approximately 85% are in-state students. The majority of students attend classes on BGSU's main campus. In addition to the main campus enrollment, 2,500 students enrolled in classes at BGSU Firelands as of 2011. 300 students attend classes at BGSU extension locations, and over 600 students attend classes via distance learning.

The university has an extensive student life program, with over 300 student organizations; club and recreational sports programs; nationally ranked living-learning communities and freshmen experience programs; student media organizations and publications; and Greek organizations. Bowling Green State University was recognized for excellence in first-year experience programs and residential living/learning communities by U.S. News & World Report from 2002â€"2003 through 2010â€"2011. In BGSU's residential learning communities, students with similar interests, majors, cultural connections, and goals live and study together. In the academically-based communities students work closely with faculty members who teach classes and have offices in the residence hall. BGSU offers eight residential learning communities: Arts Village, Global Village, Honors Learning Community, La Comunidad, La Maison Française, Natural and Health Sciences Residential Community, Partners in Context and Community, Chapman Community at Kohl; eight residential theme communities: Army ROTC, Aviation, Batchelder Music Community, Construction Management, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Wellness, and SEARCH; and one non-residential learning community known as Honors Scholars. BGSU was included U.S. News & World Report's rankings for First-Year Experience Programs for the 2006â€"07 through 2011â€"2012 reports. The university was again ranked in the top ten in the 2011â€"12 edition.

In 2012 Bowling Green redesigned its undergraduate curriculum, creating an interdisciplinary program known as the BGeXperience (BGeX), that places a focus on personal growth and development, social connections, critical thinking, problem solving and diversity. First-year students begin the BGeX program during the BGeX Introduction Weekend prior to the start of the semester and continued taking courses designed to meet BGeX criteria throughout the four years of the undergraduate programs.

GeoJourney is a special academic program conducted by the School of Earth, Environment, and Society that features a nine-week field trip/camping trip/road trip across the United States to national parks and monuments granting 24 students a semester of college credit. The GeoJourney field program includes Geology, Environmental Studies and Native American studies. Credits apply to the BG Perspective general education requirements. Students on the journey conduct interdisciplinary field investigations and gain first-hand experiences in a wide range of environments. In 2004 the first GeoJourney trip went to 24 states, 30 national parks and covered over 14,500 miles across the United States.

As part of the Department of Recreational Sports, the BGSU Outdoor Program 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 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. In 2009 The Outdoor Program won the David J Web Award by the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) as an outstanding non-profit outdoor program.

Greek life

Bowling Green is home to many fraternities and sororities. The university began Greek community initiatives during the 1940s and it has slowly flourished into a strong community. Each fraternity and sorority at BGSU promotes community service efforts, academic excellence, philanthropic events, and university involvement each through their own nationally recognized organization. As of 2013, 8% of undergraduate men and 12% of undergraduate women were members of Greek organizations. BGSU is demolishing its current Greek Town Homes located on old Fraternity Row, old Sorority Row, and the North and South Greek Conklin buildings while they plan and construct a new Greek Village which will consolidate all of the organizations together on the West side of campus against Wooster Street. The plan consists of 10 buildings divided into 33 sections consisting of 4-Bedroom, 12-Bedroom, and 18-Bedroom style homes. The site lies on top of old Fraternity Row and the North and South Conklin building locations. The demolition is scheduled for the fall of 2014 and the new Greek Village is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2016.

Media and publications

Campus newspapers include the independent student newspaper, The BG News, published since 1920. It was known as the Bee Gee News before assuming its current name on September 21, 1951. The paper is available for free at 135 newsstands. In 2009 the paper became available on a web portal known as BG Views. The paper prints 7,000 copies of the paper Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and on Wednesday during the summer. The university's independent, student operated yearbook was first published in 1918 but stopped after one edition for six years. In 1924 it resumed production and was published every year as a record of students, activities, and events for a given year. In 2008, the yearbook was replaced with a magazine format, The Key Magazine, and is published semi-annually, in fall and spring semesters.

Electronic media include two radio stations and one public television station, as well as student-produced television. BGSU's Public Broadcasting Service affiliate, WBGU-TV, broadcasts to nineteen counties in northwestern and west central Ohio and hosts PBS programming, local programming and BG24 News, a student-run television newscast airing live at 5:30pm twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday). The campus is home to two student-operated radio stations as part of the Department of Telecommunications. WBGU 88.1 FM and WFAL Falcon Radio. WBGU-FM serves as an independent radio, non-commercial educational (NCE), FCC-licensed station that focuses mostly on independent music programming and broadcasts women's basketball and hockey; while WFAL Falcon Radio, formerly WFAL 1610 AM, is a student-run commercial radio station that broadcasts music including Modern rock, Top 40, Hip hop and talk shows. Both radio stations host news and sports talk shows and BGSU athletic events through partnerships with other student-media organizations. The Bowling Green Radio News Organization (BGRNO) provides radio news coverage Monday-Friday through student-produced shows; while the Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) broadcasts BGSU athletic events on WBGU-FM and WFAL as well as local high school sports on WFAL.

The Mid-American Review is an international literary journal published through the BGSU Department of English. The Mid-American Review showcases contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. It was created in 1980 when the format changed from a student-published literary magazine, known as the Itinerary, to an international publication. Prairie Margins is a national undergraduate literary journal published by students in the Creative Writing Program. 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

SICSIC is an official spirit organization at BGSU that began in 1946 by President Frank J. Prout. SICSIC routinely attends major BGSU sporting events and other campus activities promoting school spirit. The organization is secret and contains six members, two each for sophomore, junior and senior classes. Two new members are chosen at the end of their class's freshman year to replace that year's two graduating seniors. The group is characterized by their use of gray jumpsuits and masks of famous pop culture and political figures to hide their identities, which are not revealed until the last home basketball game of their senior year.

BGSU's official mascots are Freddie and Frieda Falcon. Freddie Falcon began appearing at athletic events in 1950, while Frieda first appeared on February 25, 1966 as Mrs. Freddie Falcon. Frieda returned in the 1980â€"81 academic year as Freddie’s little sister. 1980 marked the first official female Frieda after the 1966 version was played by a male cheerleader. Freddie and Frieda routinely make appearances at BGSU athletic events and other major events around campus and the community. In a similar tradition to SICSIC, the identities of the students who play Freddie and Frieda are not revealed until the end of the basketball and hockey seasons.

BGSU currently is the home of Ohio's largest student-run philanthropy, Dance Marathon. BGSU's chapter is one of the largest and most active Dance Marathon organizations in the nation. BGSU Dance Marathon operates similar to other dance marathon events held nationwide at other college. The event is run entirely by college students and the proceeds go to local children's hospitals. Funds raised through BGSU's Dance Marathon benefit children at the Mercy Children's Hospital in Toledo via the Children's Miracle Network. 2011 marked the 16th year the BG has conducted the Dance Marathon. Since the event began, it has raised over $2.2 million for the Children's Hospital.

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 was first held in 2009 and centers around the town's rich ice skating and ice hockey traditions. Winterfest events are held all over Bowling Green. Many of the on campus events are held at the BGSU Ice Arena, including curling, skating, BGSU ice hockey and figure skating exhibitions.

Bowling Green has hosted the American Legion event known as Buckeye Boys State since 1978. The program gathers high school juniors from all over Ohio for a nine-day program in June. At Buckeye Boys State, the students operate a full government modeled after the Government of Ohio.

Marching band

The Falcon Marching Band is the largest student organization at BGSU, with over 220 members. The band performs at home football games and other university functions; the band performed at select road football games and various bowl games including the Raisin Bowl in Fresno, California, Silver Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. In 2007, the band was invited to the Bands of America Regional in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Athletic Band is auditioned group that at most basketball and hockey games, as well as other university events.

Notable alumni

Alumni of Bowling Green State University have become notable in a variety of different fields including politics and government, business, science, literature, arts and entertainment, and athletics. A number of Bowling Green Falcons have excelled at the collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels sports, including: Kevin Bieksa, Rob Blake, Dan Bylsma, Scott Hamilton, Orel Hershiser, Mike McCullough, George McPhee. Ken Morrow, Don Nehlen, Jordan Sigalet, Nate Thurmond, and Dave Wottle. Alumni involved in government and politics include: former Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon, Ohio state senator Kevin Coughlin., Ohio state senator Randy Gardner, and current Ohio congressman Tim Ryan. Other notable alumni include: explorer Conrad Allen, author Philana Marie Boles, TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini actor Tim Conway, ESPN sportscaster Jay Crawford NYU economic professor William Easterly, CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman, ESPN sportscaster Jason Jackson, Adobe Systems President and CEO Shantanu Narayen, actress Eva Marie Saint, and author James Carlos Blake, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

References

External links

• Official website
• Official athletics website