2025: A milestone year

Through significant changes — to the way people communicate, the places students learn and the technology they use to do so — Bowling Green State University has remained constant as a home for innovation.

The University’s history is marked by its degree programs meeting the moment as the needs of students and their academic disciplines changed, often quickly and dramatically.

Three colleges at BGSU and its regional campus, BGSU Firelands, are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2025, each remarkable in their own ways, and not just for longevity.

This year, the College of Engineering and Innovation turns 40, the College of Musical Arts celebrates its 50th anniversary, the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business turns 90 and Firelands is celebrating its 60th anniversary, all serving as key mile-markers in the history of the University.

Each college was, in a sense, born into a different world, yet maintained their roles as institutions through which students received outsized value from their degrees and left prepared to make a difference in their chosen fields.

Times change, and so did BGSU — often in meaningful ways that prepared students for what was ahead.

As the late Dr. Robert Overman ’56, a member of the first-ever BGSU faculty, wrote in the late 1960s, knowledge of the University’s past provides the best evidence that BGSU has an even brighter future ahead.

In 2025, as the University began the academic year by welcoming its largest and highest-achieving class in its history, Overman’s words ring truer than ever.

College of Business 90th Anniversary

Now one of the most recognizable programs of its kind in the Midwest, what is now known as the Schmidthorst College of Business endured through significant challenges in its early years to fill a need in the greater region.

In the early 1930s, there was no state university in the northern half of Ohio permitted to offer courses in business, an opportunity which BGSU recognized. Despite the hardships created during the Great Depression, the creation of the College of Business saw a new, better future for both BGSU and its home state.

The University was proved correct, as enrollment in business programming exploded in its first decade. Then as now, the BGSU College of Business built its reputation on innovation and forward thinking that prepares its graduates to leave BGSU not only with a degree, but with the confidence and skills to create a fulfilling career and great life.

BGSU Firelands 60th Anniversary

In 1965, the BGSU Board of Trustees formally approved the addition of a branch campus to expand its reach, and the creation of BGSU Firelands has been a continued success.

With the mission of making college an option for anyone, BGSU Firelands has built an infrastructure around not only welcoming students of all ages and backgrounds, but making sure they can be successful in whatever discipline they choose.

Through 60 years, the campus has thrived as a hub for learning in any season of life.

“For me, it’s about keeping the doors wide open and making sure no matter where someone is in life, they see Firelands as a place where they belong,” Dr. Allia L. Carter '12, a BGSU alumna who serves as dean of Firelands,

College of Musical Arts 50th Anniversary

Music has been a factor at the University since its infancy, with the discipline growing so consistently over the years that the study necessitated its own College by the mid-1970s.

As one of the premier producers of music education teachers in Ohio and the greater region, the BGSU College of Musical Arts has a long history of being at the forefront of musical innovation. With 18 different degree programs, one of the biggest marching bands in the country and the Bowling Green New Music Festival playing host to innovation each year, the greater learning community remains as connected to music as ever.

"For 50 years, the College of Musical Arts has thrived by honoring traditions and embracing innovation," said CMA Dean Dr. William Mathis. "As we look to the future, we will continue this mindset, responding to a changing world, engaging with new technologies and welcoming fresh ideas."

College of Engineering and Innovation 40th Anniversary

Formerly known as the College of Technology, the BGSU College of Engineering and Innovation has thrived because of its ability to adapt. Similar to CMA, technology-related degree programs have long existed at BGSU and have grown with the rest of the University over time.

Long known as an innovator within its field, the School of Engineering launched three reimagined degree programs in 2024 to help meet regional needs in advanced manufacturing. BGSU introduced electronics and computer engineering, mechanical and manufacturing engineering and robotics engineering, with already accredited systems engineering and logistics programming.

As the world of technology evolves rapidly, the BGSU College of Engineering and Innovation has been right with it every step of the way to prepare students for the careers that will have major impacts in Ohio and beyond.