Akron, University of, is a public, coeducational state university in Akron, Ohio. The Ohio Universalist Convention, a Protestant religious group, established the school that became the University of Akron in 1870. It was originally named Buchtel College for its chief benefactor, the American industrialist John R. Buchtel, an executive of a farm equipment firm. The school became nondenominational in 1907.
During the early 1900’s, Akron became the center of the rubber industry. In 1909, the school established the nation’s first academic rubber chemistry lab. In 1913, the city of Akron took ownership of the institution and changed its name to the Municipal University of Akron. In 1967, it became a state university and adopted its present name.
The Akron campus has a large department for polymer science and engineering that is nationally known. The University of Akron also operates the Wayne College branch campus, a two-year college in Orville, Ohio. The university’s athletic teams are called the Zips.
The university’s website at https://www.uakron.edu/ offers additional information.
