Wright State University first opened in 1964 as a branch campus of
Miami University and
Ohio State University, occupying only a single building. Groundwork on forming the institution began in 1961 during a time when the region lacked a public university for higher education. A community-wide fundraising effort was conducted in 1962 to establish the university, and the campaign raised the $3 million needed in
seed money. Much of the land that the campus was built on was donated by the
United States Air Force from excess acreage of
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The
Ohio General Assembly passed legislation in 1965 that transformed the branch campus into a separate institution with its own Advisory Committee on November 5, 1965. It was anticipated the campus would achieve full independent status by 1967 with its rapidly increasing enrollment of full-time students, projected to reach 5,000 within two years. On October 1, 1967, the campus officially became Wright State University following a decision by the Ohio Board of Regents. The name honors the
Wright brothers, well-known Dayton residents who are credited with inventing the world's first successful
airplane. In 1969, a branch campus opened on the shore of
Grand Lake St. Marys in
Celina, Ohio. During the 2008 United States presidential campaign, Republican nominee
John McCain announced his selection of
Sarah Palin as his running mate and choice for
vice president on August 29, 2008, at Wright State. The campaign winner
Barack Obama held a major rally at Wright State during the campaign as well. On September 23, 2015, the
Commission on Presidential Debates named Wright State the host for the first
2016 United States presidential debate, which was scheduled for September 26, 2016 at the
Nutter Center. On July 19, 2016, Wright State University backed out of the debate, citing inability to cover the cost of security. Wright State University celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017, culminating with a homecoming event. That same year, the university officially became
tobacco-free on its Dayton and Lake campuses. Wright State's faculty, which are
unionized and represented by the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP), went on
strike in 2019 following two years of failed contract negotiations. The faculty were joined by various groups, including other labor unions, community members, and a student-led labor rights group called Students for Faculty. An agreement was reached the following month, ending the strike, but its length of twenty days was the longest in Ohio history among higher education institutions and one of the longest in US history Susan Edwards became university's president on January 1, 2020. Previous university presidents were
Brage Golding (1966–1973), Robert J. Kegerreis (1973–1985), Paige E. Mulhollan (1985–1994), Harley E. Flack (1994–1998), Kim Goldenberg (1998–2006), David R. Hopkins (2007–2017), and
Cheryl B. Schrader (2017–2019). Curtis L. McCray was the interim president from March 17 through June 30, 2017, holding the position following Hopkins' early retirement on March 17, 2017. Schrader was Wright State's seventh president—and first female president—from mid 2017 until she stepped down at the end of 2019 midway through her five-year appointment. ==Campus==