The University’s founding can be traced all the back to an 1867 convention of the Universalist Church of the state of Ohio. At the convention interest in founding a college compatible with Universalist religious principles was announced. John R. Buchtel, a prominent Akron businessman and Universalist, contributed significantly to the endowment and building funds. Buchtel College, named after its greatest supporter, opened in 1872 and was a single-building campus.
