About Bowling Green State University

Established in 1910 as a teacher-training institution, Bowling Green held its first classes in 1914, but it was not until the following year that the first two buildings—now University Hall and Williams Hall—were ready for use. Student enrollment for that initial year totaled 304, with a faculty of 21. The first bachelor’s degrees were awarded in 1917.

In 1929, Bowling Green expanded to provide four-year degree programs in the College of Education and the College of Liberal Arts. The College of Business and graduate programs were added in 1935, the year in which Bowling Green attained full university status. In 1947, the Graduate School was formed, and BGSU awarded its first doctorate in English in 1963.

Beginning in 1946, BGSU offered extension programs in Sandusky, Ohio. During the next two decades, course offerings there were expanded and, in 1965, another regional campus of the University—Firelands College—was established in Huron, Ohio, to serve Erie, Huron and Ottawa counties. Firelands College, which opened for classes in 1967, offers career and technical education leading to associate and bachelor’s degrees.

In the 1970s, BGSU established three new colleges: the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Musical Arts, and the Graduate College. The School of Technology was granted college status in 1985.

In 2020, BGSU President Rodney K. Rogers announced a historic and transformational $15 million gift from Ohio entrepreneur Allen Schmidthorst and his wife, Carol, and established the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business. It was the largest academic gift given to the University through its 110-year history and resulted in the first named college on campus.