Shawnee State University
| The University Seal | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1986 |
| Endowment | $9.2 million |
| President | Rita Rice Morris |
| Students | 3,820 |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | 52 acres |
| Affiliations | NAIA Division II |
| Colors | Royal Blue and Dove Gray |
| Website | www.shawnee.edu |
Shawnee State University is a state university in Southern Ohio. It is Ohio's newest public institution of higher learning and is located on the north bank of the Ohio River.
History
Shawnee State University was established in 1986. The late Vern Riffe Jr., the former speaker of the Ohio legislature, is considered the father of the university. House Bill 739--authorizing the university--became law on July 2, 1986.
The new university has experienced two faculty strikes--and the ouster of two of its first four presidents--but the institution has neverthess grown and developed.
Academics
Shawnee State offers more than 80 bachelor’s and associate degree programs. Shawnee State offers degrees in areas such as arts and humanities, mathematical sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, teacher education, business administration, industrial and engineering technologies (none of which are accredited engineering and technology programs though), and health sciences.
Foreign Studies
In the interests of multi-culturalism, SSU has student/faculty exchange programs with several overseas institutions, including Jaume I University[1] in Spain, Al Akhawayn University[2] in Morocco , and Zhejiang University of Technology [3] in China.
SSU also has summer-study programs in Greece, Great Britain, and Ireland.
Facilities
Shawnee State, located in downtown Portsmouth, has a 52-acre campus, featuring 26 buildings, including the Advanced Technolgy Center (home of one of only 50 Digistar II planetariums in the world), the Clark Memorial Library (which provides access to the multi-million book Ohio Link Collection)[4], the 102,000-square-foot Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, which features an accoustically superior 1,139-seat main theatre, and the the James A. Rhodes Athletic Center. Other structures include a modern University Center a network of off-campus townhouses for student living.
Sudent Life
The university offers a bi-weekly independent newspaper called The University Chronicle which was once called the The Open Air. It also produces a literary and artistic magazine called the Shawnee Silhouette.
Student organizations include the Other World Society, the Nihilist Club, the Anime Club, the Conservative Student Association, the Gay-Straight Alliance, and several national fraternities and sororities.
An annual tradition is "Scare Week," a series of activities coinciding with Hallowe'en.
Shawnee State University has a rich tradition of success in athletics as member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. They have been a member of the American Mideast Conference since 1991, formerly the Mid-Ohio Conference, the Shawnee State Bears have won 17 championships and made 2. SSU has participated in 24 National Championships in 6 of 11 sponsored sports. However, their most popular and strongest sports program is women's basketball. In 1999, SSU women's basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship.