George Starr Lasher papers

In 1924, the E.W Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University was founded by George Starr Lasher (GSL), who would serve as director of the program until his retirement in 1951. This collection contains a wide range of information relating to GSL’s time as a professor and journalist at Ohio University, including textbooks, essays, articles, and teaching notes. The collection is also heavily laden with materials honoring GSL’s legacy as a longtime pillar of the Ohio University community, including clippings, speeches, and essays dedicated to Lasher’s impact as an educator.

As GSL was the founder of the Theta Chi fraternity at OU, this collection also contains a variety of documents relating to Greek Life at Ohio University, including speeches, programs, and schedules from various Greek Life events. The collection also contains extensive documentation on Ohio University’s “Greek Week,” which GSL was heavily involved in planning, detailed in his essay “The Greeks at Ohio University,” which appears in this collection.

Posthumously, Lasher’s family and colleagues kept his memory alive, most notably through the "George Starr Lasher Living Legacy” scholarships and events, organized by Ohio University staff and GSL’s daughters. This collection contains varied documents relating to these events, including pamphlets, essays, speeches, and newspaper clippings.

Apart from Lasher’s professional contributions to Ohio University, he was also heavily involved extra-curricularly with politics and popular culture during his lifetime. Included in this collection is extensive correspondence with political figures, locally and federally, as well as newspaper clippings detailing pertinent political happenings. The inclusion of these in the collection reveals the political leanings and personal priorities of GSL, and it provides valuable context which can be useful in the understanding of GSL’s professional academic writings and teachings.