Wright State University

Wright State University

Type	Public
Established	1967
Endowment	$84.8 million as of 2016
President	David R. Hopkins
Academic staff	1,855
Administrative staff	1,897
Students	17,775
Undergraduates	13,607
Postgraduates	4,168
Location	Fairborn, Ohio, U.S.
Campus	Suburban
Student newspaper	The Guardian
Colors	Green and Gold
Athletics	NCAA Division I — Horizon League
Nickname	Raiders
Mascot	Wolf, Rowdy Raider
Website	www.wright.edu

Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. Originally operating as a branch campus for Ohio State University and Miami University, Wright State became an independent institution in 1967. Its name honors the aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, who were residents of Dayton. In 1969, a 173-acre (70 ha) branch campus opened on the shore of Grand Lake St. Marys in Celina, Ohio. The university offers degrees at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level.

Wright State University began in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, occupying only a single building. That building, Allyn Hall, was named for one of the university's founders and former president of National Cash Register Stanley Allyn. Much of the land the campus is situated on was donated by the United States Air Force from excess acreage of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Groundwork on forming the institution began in 1961 during a time when the region lacked a public university for higher education. Dayton was emerging economically as a center for innovative technologies which demanded an increasingly educated work force. A community-wide fundraising effort was conducted in 1962 to establish the university, and the campaign raised the $3 million needed in seed money.

The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation in 1965 that transformed the Dayton campus into the Wright State Campus with its own Advisory Committee on November 5, 1965. It was anticipated the campus would achieve independent status by 1967 with its rapidly increasing enrollment of full-time students, projected to reach 5,000 within two years. On October 1, 1967, the campus officially became Wright State University following a decision by the Ohio Board of Regents. The name honors the Wright brothers, well-known Dayton residents who are credited with inventing the world's first successful airplane.