Shawnee State University
Shawnee State University is a public university in Southern Ohio. Ohio's newest institution of higher learning, it is located on the north bank of the Ohio River. Ted Strickland, Ph.D., the governor of Ohio, is a former SSU assistant professor of psychology.
Shawnee State University was established in 1986. The late Vernal Riffe Jr., the former speaker of the Ohio legislature, is considered the father of the institution. House Bill 739--authorizing the university--became law on July 2, 1986. Vernal G. Riffe also endowed funding for a state of the art "Center for the Arts" which was named in his honor, The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.
Academics
Shawnee State offers more than 80 bachelor’s and associate degree programs. Shawnee State offers degrees in several areas, including Biology, Chemistry, History, International Relations, Psychology, Sociology, Mathematical Sciences, English and Humanities, Accounting, Computer Programming, E-commerce (Business/MIS), Computer Networking (Business/MIS), Health Management, Teacher Education, Graphic Design (Visualist): Print, Web Design, Digital 3D Animation, Digital Simulation and Gaming, Ceramics, Drawing, and Painting, Plastics Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Nursing, Medical Laboratory Technology, Respiratory Therapy,and Occupational Therapy.
In the interests of multi-culturalism, SSU has student/faculty exchange programs with several overseas institutions, including Jaume I University in Spain, Al Akhawayn Universit in Morocco , and Zhejiang University of Technology in China.
Shawnee State University also offers on a regular basis travel/study abroad courses to Greece, Britain, and Ireland. Some of these courses are funded by the Hodgden Travel Fund and by CIPA, the SSU International Office.
Facilities
Located in downtown Portsmouth, Shawnee State has a 52-acre campus, featuring 36 buildings, including the Advanced Technology Center (home of one of only 50 Digistar II planetariums in the world), the Clark Memorial Library (which provides access to the 45.5 million items of the OhioLink libraries' collections), the 102,000-square-foot Vern Riffe Center for the Arts (which features an acoustically superior 1,139-seat main theatre, designed by by George Izenour). Other structures include the James A. Rhodes Athletic Center (which offers a gymnasium, weight rooms, racquetball courts, a dance classroom, and a junior Olympic-size swimming pool), a modern University Center, a bookstore operated by Barnes and Noble, and a network of townhouses for student living. The university features an ultra-modern computer network. 560 student computers, all of them fewer than 3 years old, are available in 30 labs on campus. The university also offers free Internet services to each student, faculty and staff member, as well as a campus Email account.
Student life
Student organizations include the AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, Native American), Art Works, Association for Greek Life, Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honor Society), Calliope Club, Campus Crusade for Christ, Campus Ministry, Chemistry Club, Cross Walk, Environmental Club, Fantanime, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Gamer's Guild, Greek Council, Innermission, International Forum, Model Arab League, Pre-Med Club, Resident Life Council, S.C.U.G., Silhouette Literary Magazine, Society of Plastic Engineering, Sports Management Club, SSU Pep Club, Student Occupational Therapy Association, the Other World Society, the Shawnee Democratic Society, the Nihilist Club, the Conservative Student Association, the Gay-Straight Alliance, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, Circle K International, the Priori de Bolo, Delta Sigma Phi (men's national social fraternity), Tau Kappa Epsilon (men's national social fraternity), Theta Phi Alpha (women's national social fraternity), and Omega Pi Mu (women's social fraternity).
Many campus activities and events are organized by the Student Programming Board. Popular annual events include SpringFest (which features a concert), "homecoming," which is held in winter, and the week-long "Scare Week," which corresponds to Hallowe'en."
Athletics
A member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, SSU has participated in 24 National Championships, in 6 of 11 sponsored sports.
The University fields teams in basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, softball, volleyball, golf, and cross country.
In 1999, SSU women's basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship.