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♪
Thanks for joining us.
As we were saying, we're going to watch
that video today of Ohio University.
You can keep your pencils out
so that you can make notes,
because guess what, there'll be a quiz right after.
(sighing)
Ohio University is a great institution
with a history that goes back
more than 200 years,
so you're part of something that's very important.
(film rolling)
Ohio University, your new home away from home.
What you may not know about our university
is that its roots run deep in the history of our country.
Ohio University has been around
almost as long as the United States itself.
Some of the men we look to as the founding fathers
of our nation, Washington and Jefferson,
were connected to the founding fathers
of Ohio University,
Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam.
Cutler served as a chaplain
in Washington's army.
Putnam served as a general
under Washington.
Later, Cutler served two terms
in the House of Representatives
under President Jefferson.
In 1786, 11 men, mostly veterans from the war,
gathered at the Bunch-of-Grapes Tavern in Boston
to propose development of the area
north of the Ohio River
and west of the Allegheny Mountains
known then as the Ohio Country.
Led by Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam,
the Ohio Company petitioned Congress
to take action on the proposed settlement.
Cutler's efforts contributed to the enactment
of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
which provided for settlement and government
of the territory.
A key passage from the Northwest Ordinance
highlighting the important connection between education
and the new democratic form of government
is inscribed in Ohio University's Class Gateway:
"Religion, morality, and knowledge
being necessary to good government
and the happiness of mankind
schools and the means of education
shall forever be encouraged."
If Manasseh Cutler was our visionary,
then Rufus Putnam was our pioneer.
He led the first group of settlers
from Boston to Marietta in 1788.
In 1796, he continued to Athens.
He wrote back to Cutler about plans for the university
and said they were ready.
In 1803, Ohio became a state.
And on February 18th, 1804, the Ohio General Assembly
passed an act establishing
the Ohio University.
The university opened in 1808 with one building,
three students, and its one professor,
Jacob Lindley, who came from Princeton
to serve as Ohio University's first president.
One of the first two graduates
of the university, Thomas Ewing,
later became a United States senator
and distinguished himself as cabinet member
or advisor to four U.S. presidents.
Ohio University has not only been an intellectual leader
in this part of the country,
but also a multicultural leader as well.
The first African American, John Newton Templeton,
graduated in 1828 and the first woman,
Margaret Boyd, graduated from Ohio University in 1873.
OHIO also has a strong international
student population.
In 1895, Saki Taro Murayama of Japan
became a graduate of Ohio University.
You're joining a diverse group of scholars
studying to achieve the more than 200 majors
and minors available.
As you explore your new home
and wander across the college green,
remember the history that came before you.
You are now part of a legacy that includes
not only the history of our university,
but also the history of the founding fathers
of our great nation.
You are now part of the over 200-year-old tradition.
Carry on your days at old OHIO
as a proud bobcat.
♪