Thomas Ewing and John Hunter, Ohio University’s first graduates in 1815, will be celebrated on this year’s Founder’s Day.
Ohio University’s first commencement ceremony was 200 years ago, but a display in Alden Library is bringing the event into the present.
In honor of Founder’s Day on Wednesday, several artifacts from OU’s history are on display — including a vote by the Board of Trustees granting Thomas Ewing and John Hunter, OU’s first graduates, their degrees.
“This year there’s actually three significant milestones to acknowledge,” said Jennifer Kirksey, chief of staff and special assistant to president Roderick McDavis.
One of them is the 100th anniversary of a pageant that Irma Voigt, OU’s first dean of women, used to hold on campus. The two-day event drew around 800 participants including the local high school marching band, Bill Kimok, university archivist and records manager, said in an email.
The Alumni Gateway on Court Street will also be turning 100 this year.
The arch was originally constructed in 1915 in honor of the centennial celebration of OU’s first graduating class.
“We are always trying to make our exhibits not just educational in depicting change over time, but also to make them visually pleasing,” Kimok said.
Other items on display on the fifth floor of Alden include images of Ewing and Voigt and an old wooden marquee from Ewing Hall, which was torn down in 1974.
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Stained glass from Ewing Hall can now be found on the ground floor of Walter Hall, Kimok said.
Ewing, for whom the hall is named, went on to serve in the United States Senate, and as Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of the Interior. Hunter died a year after his commencement ceremony.
“One of the things I appreciate the most about this university is the rich history, it's easy to forget we're 211 years old, right?,” said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs. “I think it's important for students to pause and reflect on that even if it's while walking to class."
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