public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Athens, Ohio, U.S., about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Columbus. It was the first institution of higher education in the Northwest Territory. The university has branches in Chillicothe, Ironton, Lancaster, St. Clairsville, and Zanesville. The main campus includes colleges of arts and sciences, business, engineering and technology, education, osteopathic medicine, health and human services, fine arts, and communication. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs and a doctorate in osteopathic medicine. Research facilities in Athens include Edwards Accelerator Laboratory, the Center for Geotechnical and Environmental Research, and the Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development.

Ohio University was founded in 1804, and instruction began five years later. Women were first admitted in 1869. William McGuffey (McGuffey, William Holmes), author of the McGuffey Readers, was an early president of Ohio University. The Chillicothe and Zanesville branches were founded in 1946, the Ironton and Lancaster branches in 1956, and the St. Clairsville branch in 1957. Artist Jim Dine and politician Thomas Ewing, the first U.S. secretary of the interior, are among the university's alumni.