University of Toledo

The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a 450-acre (180 ha) Health Science campus, which includes the University of Toledo Medical Center, in the West Toledo neighborhood of Toledo; the Center for the Visual Arts is located in downtown Toledo at the Toledo Museum of Art; and a research and education facility, known as the Lake Erie Center, at Maumee Bay State Park.

The university was founded in 1872 in downtown Toledo as the Toledo University of Arts and Trades. It closed after six years. The city of Toledo took it over, reopening it in 1884 as the Toledo Manual Training School. The vocational school was developed as a university through the late 1800s.

In 1931 the university moved to its current location in the Ottawa neighborhood. Since its establishment, the university has physically expanded to include more than 100 major buildings with a combined area of more 1,400 acres (570 ha) and transformed its academic program from one for vocational and secondary education into a comprehensive research university. It is known for its curriculum in the science, engineering, and medical fields. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

The University of Toledo has over 100,000 living alumni and a current enrollment of more than 13,000 students. The university has more than 300 student organizations. Its athletic teams, called the Rockets, are members of the Mid-American Conference.

The University of Toledo began in 1872 as a private arts and trades school, offering subjects such as painting and architectural drawing. Jesup Wakeman Scott, a local newspaper editor, published a pamphlet in 1868 entitled "Toledo: Future Great City of the World." He believed that the center of world commerce was moving westward, and by 1900 would be located in Toledo. To prepare for such growth of industry and commerce, Scott donated 160 acres of land as an endowment for a university. The Toledo University of Arts and Trades was incorporated on October 12, 1872. The university's original mission was to "furnish artists and artisans with the best facilities for a high culture in their professions...." Scott died in 1874, a year before the university opened in an old church building downtown Toledo.

By the late 1870s, the school was in financial trouble and the school closed in 1878. On January 8, 1884, the assets of the school became property of the city of Toledo. The school reopened under city control as the Toledo Manual Training School. It offered a three-year program for students at least 13 years old who received both academic and manual instruction in the trades.

Jerome Raymond, the university's first president, expanded its offerings in the early 1900s by affiliating with the Toledo Conservatory of Music, the YMCA College of Law, and the Toledo Medical College. Raymond also created the College of Arts and Sciences. Despite the expansion, the school struggled financially and had various legal battles over control.

A. Monroe Stowe became president in 1914, and helped organize and stabilize the college. On January 30, 1914, the college became known as Toledo University. Stowe added to its offerings, founding the College of Commerce and Industry (later the College of Business Administration) in 1914, and the College of Education in 1916. During this period, enrollment grew from 200 students to around 1,500.