Fall 2021 EditionAlumni & Friends Magazine
Paying tribute to President Ping
President Emeritus Charles J. Ping passed away on July 27 in Athens—just a few miles from the University that he helped to shape into the life-changing institution it is today and that he continued to serve long after his presidency.
Staff Report | September 24, 2021
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“Our greatest need is to recapture the sense of what we are about—a sense of common purpose which gives value and meaning to our work as we commit ourselves to our tasks and the future of the University.”
Guided by those words, delivered in his first address to faculty and staff in 1975, Dr. Charles J. Ping led OHIO out of a period of declining enrollment and fiscal crisis and into an era of growth, financial stability and excellence.
As Ohio University’s 18 th President, he invested 19 years into inspiring, empowering and galvanizing the OHIO community around its educational mission—collaborative efforts that positioned the University among the nation’s best and poised for its third century.
Under his leadership, general education requirements were restored, Ohio’s only osteopathic college and what is now the College of Health Sciences and Professions were opened, and a renewed focus on research brought the University a ranking from the Carnegie Institute as one of the nation’s top research universities. Ping co-founded the Cutler Scholars Program, and new international programs in Africa, Southeast Asia and Japan expanded the institution’s global presence and attracted scholars worldwide to OHIO.
With a visionary approach and gentlemanly demeanor, Ping steered OHIO to its then-highest enrollment, and a 20 percent increase in student retention, and presided over the awarding of degrees to more than 72,000 graduates. He spearheaded capital campaigns generating more than $150 million, and the Ping era saw the construction of a new Aquatic Center and the groundbreaking on the new Charles J. Ping Student Recreation Center.
President Emeritus Ping passed away on July 27, 2021, in Athens—just a few miles from the University that he helped to shape into the life-changing institution it is today and that he continued to serve long after his presidency.
Ohio Today's "Time Machine" feature is dedicated to the 25 th anniversary of the Charles J. Ping Student Recreation Center —just one of Dr. Ping's countless legacies at Ohio University.
President Ping reviews documents in his Cutler Hall office with Provost Neil Bucklew in this 1978 photo. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
Even after retiring as president of Ohio University, Dr. Ping, pictured in this 1985 photo, continued to teach philosophy and educational administration and remained involved in the Cutler Scholars Program and Ping Institute for the Teaching of the Humanities. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
President Ping looks over architectural plans at Peden Stadium in this 1985 photo. The stadium underwent major renovation in 1986 that expanded its seating. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
President Ping walks through College Green with a delegation of China. Under Dr. Ping's tutelage, international programs in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Japan were added to expand OHIO's international presence. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
President Ping and First Lady Claire Ping celebrate his 10th anniversary as OHIO's 18th president in the 1985 photo. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
President Emeritus Ping speaks at a 2008 reception for OHIO's international students. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Photography
President Emeritus Ping and former First Lady Claire Ping tour the new Charles J. Ping Student Recreation Center during its grand opening celebration in January 1996. Photo courtesy of Ohio University Photography
Featured image: President Emeritus Charles J. Ping passed away on July 27 in Athens—just a few miles from the University that he helped to shape into the life-changing institution it is today and that he continued to serve long after his presidency. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC '02
