Cutler Hall

Cutler Hall houses the offices of the president, the provost, and other senior administrative officers. Portraits of past university presidents are on display in the first-floor corridor. You may also want to examine the on-line collection of portraits and biographical sketches of the former presidents.

Through the years, the College Edifice (also known as the Center Building) served as a dormitory, classroom building, laboratory, library, and museum. Anecdotes about the building and its occupants abound; one story claims that John Brough, who founded the Cincinnati Enquirer  and served as governor of Ohio during the Civil War, kicked a ball over the building while playing an early form of football in his student days.

During an extensive remodeling in 1881, the roof was raised about three feet and an iron gable installed, the small-paned windows lengthened and narrowed, and the handmade bricks painted gray. In 1914, the building was renamed Cutler Hall. The clock on the cupola was a gift of the Class of 1914. Chimes (now operated by tape) replaced a bell that had been rung by hand for more than 130 years to sound the hours and call students to class. Each day at 8 A.M. and noon, the chimes play "Alma Mater, Ohio."

When John C. Baker became president of the university in 1945, the building was considered an eyesore, having been abandoned for classroom use in 1936. He was advised to have it demolished. Instead, it was renovated and restored to its original appearance, including the small-paned windows and original dimensions of the roof. In 1966, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.