Wright State University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wright State University

Motto	Ad docendum, Investigandum, Serviendum (Latin)
Motto in English	Teaching, Research, Service
Type	Public research university
Established	1967; 58 years ago (1967)
Parent institution	University System of Ohio
Accreditation	HLC
Academic affiliations	CUMU Space-grant
Endowment	$95.5 million (2020)
President	Susan Edwards
Provost	Amy Thompson
Academic staff	1,139
Administrative staff	1,108
Students	10,264 (Dayton) 11,469 (all campuses)
Undergraduates	7,415 (Dayton) 8,619 (all campuses)
Postgraduates	2,849 (Dayton) 2,850 (all campuses)
Location	Fairborn , Ohio , United States 39°47′06″N 84°03′32″W / 39.785°N 84.059°W / 39.785; -84.059
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Green and Gold
Nickname	Raiders
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – Horizon League
Mascot	Gray Wolf, Raider personified as Rowdy Raider

Wright State University is a public university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. It started in 1964 as a branch of two other universities. In 1967, it became its own school. The university is named after the famous aviation pioneers, the Wright brothers. They lived in nearby Dayton, Ohio.

Wright State offers many types of degrees. These include bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The university is known for its high level of research. Its sports teams are called the Wright State Raiders. They play in Division I of the NCAA. Besides the main campus, there is also a regional campus. It is called Wright State University–Lake Campus.

History of Wright State University

How Wright State Began

Wright State University first opened in 1964. It started as a branch campus for Miami University and Ohio State University. At first, it had only one building. People in the area wanted a public university. So, they started working to create one in 1961.

In 1962, the community raised money for the university. They collected $3 million to help start the school. Much of the land for the campus was given by the United States Air Force. This land came from extra space at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

In 1965, a law was passed that made the campus a separate school. It became fully independent on October 1, 1967. The school was named Wright State University. This name honors the Wright brothers. They were famous Dayton residents who invented the first successful airplane. In 1969, a branch campus opened near Celina, Ohio.

Recent Years at Wright State

Wright State University celebrated its 50th birthday in 2017. They made a website to show important moments from the university's past. The celebration ended with Homecoming events in September and October 2017.

In the same year, the university became a tobacco-free campus. This means no smoking or tobacco products are allowed. This decision came from a recommendation in 2012. The Ohio Board of Regents suggested that all public universities in Ohio become tobacco-free.

In 2019, some faculty members went on strike. This happened after two years of talks about their work contracts. Other groups supported the faculty, including students. An agreement was reached the next month, ending the strike. This strike was the longest for a university in Ohio's history.

Susan Edwards became the university's president on January 1, 2020. She is the current president.

Wright State and Politics

Presidential Campaigns at Wright State

Wright State University has been a place for important political events. In 2008, John McCain announced his running mate, Sarah Palin, at Wright State. She was chosen to be his vice president. Later, Barack Obama also held a big rally at the university. He became the first African-American president.

In 2015, Wright State was chosen to host a presidential debate in 2016. It was planned for the Nutter Center. However, in July 2016, Wright State decided not to host the debate. They said they could not pay for the security costs.

Academics at Wright State

The university is approved to offer doctoral degrees. Wright State has seven colleges and three schools.

Degrees for Students

Wright State offers 106 bachelor's degrees. These are in colleges like:

• The Raj Soin College of Business
• The College of Education and Human Services
• The College of Engineering and Computer Sciences
• The College of Liberal Arts
• The College of Nursing and Health
• The College of Science and Mathematics

The Lake Campus also offers some bachelor's and master's degrees. It also has 15 associate degrees.

Advanced Degrees

Wright State offers 136 graduate programs. These include doctoral programs. They are offered through:

• The Wright State University Graduate School
• The Boonshoft School of Medicine
• The School of Professional Psychology

The Lake Campus also has some graduate programs.

Boonshoft School of Medicine

The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine started in 1973. It is approved to train doctors. In 2018–19, the school had 480 students studying to become M.D. doctors. It also had students in public health and other medical fields. The school was named in 2005 to honor the Oscar Boonshoft family. They gave a lot of money to the medical school.

ROTC Programs

Wright State University has Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Army ROTC programs. These programs train college students to become officers in the military. The Air Force ROTC program is one of the largest in its region.

Kno.e.sis Research Center

Kno.e.sis Center at Wright State University

The Kno.e.sis center was started in 2007. It is a special research center at Wright State. In 2009, it was named an Ohio Center of Excellence. This means it's a top center for certain important areas.

The center focuses on many different research areas. These include:

• Semantic Web (making the internet smarter)
• Network Science (studying how networks work)
• Social Data Analysis (understanding data from social media)
• Machine Learning (teaching computers to learn)
• Data Mining (finding patterns in large amounts of data)
• Bioinformatics (using computers to understand biology)
• Natural Language Processing (helping computers understand human language)
• Cloud Computing (using shared computer resources over the internet)

Kno.e.sis has many researchers, including professors and graduate students. They have helped develop important technical standards for the World Wide Web.

Arts and Creativity at Wright State

Lobby of the Wright State University Creative Arts Center in 2007

In 2009, Wright State started a new program called CELIA. This stands for Collaboration, Education, Leadership, and Innovation in the Arts. It brings together the Art, Music, and Theatre, Dance, & Motion Pictures departments. CELIA helps them work together on artistic and educational projects.

One of the first projects was a documentary called The Last Truck. It was nominated for an Academy Award. It showed the closing of a big factory in Ohio. The arts departments also worked with professional theater groups and the Dayton Philharmonic orchestra.

In 2011, CELIA was also named an Ohio Center of Excellence. The famous actor Tom Hanks even sent a video message to congratulate the arts programs.

Student Life: Greek Organizations

Wright State University has many Greek organizations. These are social groups like fraternities and sororities. They are part of different national councils. These groups include:

• Alpha Sigma Phi
• Phi Kappa Tau
• Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Alpha Omicron Pi
• Alpha Xi Delta
• Delta Zeta
• Kappa Delta
• Zeta Tau Alpha
• Alpha Phi Alpha
• Alpha Kappa Alpha
• Delta Sigma Theta
• Phi Beta Sigma
• Sigma Gamma Rho
• Kappa Phi Lambda (the university's first Asian-interest sorority)

Athletics at Wright State

The Wright State Raiders are the sports teams for Wright State University. They play in fifteen different sports. All teams compete at the Division I level of the NCAA. They are part of the Horizon League.

The school's mascot is Rowdy Raider, who is a wolf. The men's basketball team played in the NCAA Tournament in 2018. This was their third time in the tournament.

Notable People from Wright State

Alumni

Faculty

See also

In Spanish: Universidad Estatal Wright para niños