91�ֿ�

“No obstacles of any kind will be placed in the way of students or teachers seeking to prepare themselves for better public service." – John E. McGilvrey (Jan. 8, 1867–Oct. 3, 1945).

91�ֿ� would not be the successful, prestigious institution it is today without the dedication and innovation of 91�ֿ�’s first president, .

Described as “a man of flair and dash, strong ideas, and relentless persistence,” he immediately he poured his energy into the creation of an innovative new educational institution after his appointment as the first president of 91�ֿ� Normal School in 1910.

His accomplishments as president included the establishment of satellite locations to bring education to students where they were (the precursor to regional campuses), offering correspondence courses (the first distance learning at 91�ֿ�), summer educational travel (the school’s first education-abroad/study-away programs) and, inadvertently, the formation of the school’s first fraternities and sororities.  

McGilvrey’s visionary 50-year campus plan imagined classical buildings, walking paths and residence halls.

He also was responsible for the founding of the 91�ֿ�’s first alumni organization – in 1911 – even before the school’s first graduation.

President McGilvrey with 91�ֿ� Normal School's first graduating class. 

From 1920-1926, the school’s athletic teams were called “The Silver Foxes,” after the Kent Silver Fox Farm, owned by McGilvrey and his son, Robert.

From the very start, it was McGilvrey’s desire that 91�ֿ� would become a university, and despite resistance from within the institution and others across the state, he worked tirelessly toward that goal during his administration. This pursuit put him at odds with the president of Ohio State University in a perceived competition for state resources.

During his presidency, his passionate pursuit of innovation along with some political power struggles within the organization put him at odds with several members of the Board of Trustees. In 1926, the board voted to remove McGilvrey as university president.

Aside from those board members and a few other detractors, McGilvrey was beloved by most students, faculty and members of the community. So, as old board members were replaced with new ones, changes in politics at the university allowed McGilvrey’s allies to welcome the much-beloved former president back to campus in 1934. He asked for, and received, the title of “President Emeritus” and asked to be put in charge of revitalizing and re-energizing the school’s alumni organization.

In 1935, he lobbied for, and realized his dream of 91�ֿ� Normal College becoming 91�ֿ�. He also was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of a new science building in 1940 that was later named for him as McGilvrey Hall.

President McGilvrey addressing the student body in "the Tabernacle" in 1914. The Tabernacle was a temporary structure on the school's Front Campus that could accommodate up to 1,000 people.

All photos courtesy of 91�ֿ� Libraries Special Collections and Archives.