ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University’s Athens campus has been named one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country.
It’s also the oldest college in the state dating back to 1804.
18,000 undergraduates and another 24,000 graduate students make up the Athens campus, which has been nicknamed Cleveland’s most distant suburb because of how many students come from the Northeast Ohio area.
Here are some other fun facts you may not know about the school:
- OHIO's Marching 110 is known as the "most exciting band in the land.” They have performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, NFL games and elsewhere. Their YouTube videos rack up millions of views.
- Alumni of OHIO’s Scripps College of Communication have won 39 Pulitzer Prizes.
- The cherry trees that line the Hocking River are a gift from Japan’s Chubu University. The first 175 trees were donated in honor of OHIO’s 175th birthday.
- After a heavy snowfall, students sled down Jefferson Hill, aka Jeff Hill, a steep road that connects the main College Green and the residence halls on East Green.
Famous OHIO students, faculty and alumni:
- George Voinovich, late Cleveland mayor, Ohio governor and U.S. senator, graduated from Ohio University in 1958.
- Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson
- Allie LaForce (2018 commencement speaker, Emmy-nominated CBS Sports anchor)
- Well-known figures in the entertainment industry: Paul Newman; Ed O’Neill; Piper Parabo; Richard Dean Anderson (AKA MacGuyver); Brian Unger; Arsenio Hall;
- Members of the media: Wes Lowery, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; Erma Bombeck; Clarence Page (Washington Post columnist)
- Athletes: Mike Schmidt, Phillies third baseman; Gary Trent, NBA player
- Author Walter Tevis, English instructor (wrote the Hustler & the Color of Money, which were turned into movies starting other notable OHIO student Paul Newman!)
- Sculptor David Hostetler, professor emeritus