1. The Local College Booster Movement in Nineteenth Century Ohio. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.
- Author
-
Grandillo, Michael A.
- Abstract
This paper reviews the history of the founding of colleges in Ohio during the nineteenth century, focusing on a critical reexamination of the thesis of Donald Tewksbury (1932), which emphasizes the role of religious denominations in the founding and persistence of private institutions of higher education. It argues that colleges and universities, as they emerged during this period, should be viewed as broad-based local enterprises that were deeply rooted in the economic and cultural life of the local community. Local boosterism is thought to have been a more significant factor in the survival of independent colleges than the religious zeal of the denominations. Discussion of the national and historical context precedes a review of private college development in Ohio, noting the easy requirements for chartering a college under the Northwest Ordinance and the State Constitution of 1802. Examples are then provided showing the important role of local boosterism in the founding and development of such Ohio institutions as Heidelberg College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Wooster College, and Case Western Reserve University. Also discussed in relation to the founding of Ohio colleges are the influence of the quest for female education, philanthropy, for-profit institutions, canals, and railroads. (Contains 32 references.) (DB)
- Published
- 1997