Editing Ohio State University (section)

==== 1900–1980 Middle era ====
[[File:Columbus, Ohio LOC 22.tif|thumb|A view of The Oval green space in the early 20th century]]
In 1906, Ohio State [[segregationist]]<ref name=seg2>{{cite web |title=Naming Policy |url=https://www.thelantern.com/projects/project/naming-policy/ |website=The Lantern |date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-02}}</ref> president [[William Oxley Thompson]], along with the university's supporters in the state legislature, put forth the Lybarger Bill with the aim of shifting virtually all higher education support to the continued development of Ohio State while funding only the "[[normal school]]" functions of the state's other public universities. Although the Lybarger Bill failed narrowly to gain passage, in its place the Eagleson Bill was passed as a compromise, which determined that all doctoral education and research functions would be the role of Ohio State, and that Miami University and Ohio University would not offer instruction beyond the master's degree level – an agreement that would remain in place until the 1950s. In 1916, Ohio State was elected into membership in the [[Association of American Universities]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Staff|title=The Ohio State University {{!}} Association of American Universities|url=https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members/ohio-state-university|access-date=April 13, 2021|website=[[Association of American Universities]]}}</ref>

In 1911, president Thompson wrote in a letter, "the race problem is growing in intensity every year, and I am disposed to doubt the wisdom on the part of the colored people of taking any move that practically forces the doctrine of social equality."<ref name=seg>{{cite web |title=Students lead us closer to justice and equity |url=https://alumnimagazine.osu.edu/story/students-lead-us-closer-justice-and-equity |website=Ohio State Alumni Magazine |access-date=2024-07-02}}</ref> At the same time, Ohio State "practiced [[racial segregation]]" that was widespread across the country at the time against Black students, and "there is no known evidence [Thompson] saw benefits in addressing it".<ref name=seg /> In 2024, after attempts were made to remove Thompson's statue from the Oval, university spokesperson Ben Johnson stated "the naming review process is thoughtful and thorough and therefore could take several years", but the statue has not been removed.<ref name=seg2 />

With the onset of the [[Great Depression]], Ohio State would face many of the challenges affecting universities throughout America as budget support was slashed, and students without the means of paying tuition returned home to support families. By the mid-1930s, however, enrollment had stabilized due in large part to the role of the [[Federal Emergency Relief Administration]] and later the [[National Youth Administration]].<ref>[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/heq/44.3/bower.html  ''A Favored Child of the State: Federal Student Aid at Ohio Colleges and Universities, 1934–1943'' Kevin P. Bower] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303185523/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/heq/44.3/bower.html |date=March 3, 2006 }}</ref> By the end of the decade, enrollment had still managed to grow to over 17,500. In 1934, the Ohio State Research Foundation was founded to bring in outside funding for faculty research projects. In 1938, a development office was opened to begin raising funds privately to offset reductions in state support.

In 1952, Ohio State founded the [[interdisciplinary]] [[Mershon Center for International Security Studies]], which it still houses. The work of this program led to the United States [[Department of Homeland Security]] basing the National Academic Consortium for Homeland Security at the university in 2003.