Bowling Green State University is a public research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The 1,338-acre (541.5 ha) main academic and residential campus is located 15 miles (24 km) south of Toledo, Ohio. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education, as part of the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized two new normal schools in the state of Ohio. Over the universitys history, it developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public university.
History
The school opened on September 15, 1914 as Bowling Green State Normal School in two temporary locations at the Bowling Green Armory and at a branch school in Toledo for the 1914–1915 academic year.[11][14] It initially enrolled 304 students from Ohio, Michigan, and New York who were taught by 21 faculty members.[9] The school graduated its first class in 1915, consisting of 35 certified teachers. University Hall and Williams Hall opened that year, the schools first two permanent buildings.