Tales From the Archives

The following articles were written for the 30th anniversary of Wright State University's official chartering. On Oct. 1, 1997, Wright State University celebrated Senate Bill 212 which created the new university in 1967.

What's In a Name
Founders' Day 1967

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? If things had gone a little differently 32 years ago, we would all be celebrating Founders' Day here at Southwestern State University instead of Wright State University.

When it opened its doors in 1964, our university was known as the Dayton branch campus of the Miami and Ohio State Universities. By the next year, a plan was afoot in the Ohio legislature to turn the branch campus into Wright Brothers University, a four-year institution that would join the ranks of Ohio's seven other state Universities.

The Wright Brothers University name was scuttled in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1965 when the representative from Springfield, Charles E. Fry, successfully added an amendment to the bill creating the new university, changing the name to Southwestern State University. The Senate disagreed, and a conference committee settled the matter by proposing the name Wright State University, a name both houses agreed upon.

Senate Bill 212 passed in 1967 actually created the new university, which was officially chartered Wright State University on Oct. 1, 1967.

by Cindy Young
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Wright State University

Founders' Day 1967

Wright State University celebrates its 30th anniversary as an independent university October 1, 1997. On October 1, 1967, Wright State celebrated its own identity separate from its founding institutions, Miami University and The Ohio State University.

The Dayton Campus was established after decades of Miami and OSU offering evening courses in Dayton-area high schools, the YWCA, and on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Wright State originally began as The Dayton Campus of Miami University and The Ohio State University in the fall of 1964. Its first building, Allyn Hall, stood alone in the middle of a farm pasture and housed faculty, administration, student services, and classrooms. The Dayton Campus represents the collaboration among Dayton business and civic leaders like Stanley C. Allyn and Robert S. Oelman of NCR, and education leaders Novice G. Fawcett and John D. Millett, presidents of The Ohio State University and Miami University respectively.

Brage Golding became the first president of the Dayton Campus in the fall of 1966. One year later, campus enrollment exceeded 5,000, which gave the campus the required size for full independence per Senate Bill 210. On September 15, 1967, President Golding, Vice President of Finance Fred White, and Director of Communications Al Brown returned from the Board of Regents meeting in Columbus with the official word of Wright State's independence. They were met by a welcoming campus crowd of more than 300 from the student body, faculty and administration, complete with banners and refreshments.

Later, students held a mock funeral service signifying the end of the "Dayton Campus" designation. A casket was buried in the woods to the north of Founders' Quadrangle. A tree was planted over the grave to commemorate the beginning of the new university.

On October 21, 1967, the communities of Fairborn, Xenia, and Beavercreek sponsored a day-long celebration on the Wright State University campus. The theme was "The University - The Community - The Family." Festivities including an ox roast, a soccer game between the WSU soccer club and Wilberforce, a performance by the Wright-Patterson Air Force Band, an art show and sports activities strengthened the ties between the university and the community.

Thirty years have passed since that first Founders' Day. Although a young university, Wright State has a rich history. This is only one of the stories from WSU's past. Look for more "Tales from the University Archives" in the weeks ahead as we celebrate Founders' Day throughout the Fall Quarter of 1997.

by Dawne Dewey
Head, Special Collections and Archives
Wright State University Libraries