CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Ohio University Chillicothe will mark 80 years of serving south-central Ohio with a free public celebration Sept. 17, commemorating eight decades since the campus opened as the university’s first branch outside Athens.
The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Stevenson Center and will feature music from the Chillicothe High School marching band and string quartet, yard games and refreshments, according to the university. It is free and open to the public.
The campus opened Sept. 16, 1946, with 281 students enrolled in 41 classes held at Chillicothe High School, making it Ohio University’s first college branch, according to the university. Daytime classes began at First Presbyterian Church in 1961. The campus purchased 43 acres that year and added 38 more acres in 1961, building toward its current footprint of about 100 acres.
Bennett Hall, the campus’s first permanent building, opened in 1966 at a cost of $1.6 million. The Burton E. Stevenson Learning Resources Center followed in 1974, built for $1 million.
Interim Dean Michael Lafreniere said the campus remains “closely tied to the needs of the surrounding community,” adding that “an anniversary like this belongs to the generations who built it.”
Downtown Chillicothe Director Tiffany Baldwin said the campus “has been an integral part of our community” and called it “a true community partner.”
The information contained in this story was obtained from Ohio University.
