The university was granted an exception to Title IX in 2016 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons.[2]
Presidents
Name
Service Period
Everett A. Keaton
1948-1952
Guy C. Johnson
1952-1953
Richard G. Humble
1953-1956
Glen Johnson
1956-1959
Morton W. Dorsey
1959-1964
Melvin Maxwell
1964-1980
Douglas Carter
1980-1989
David Van Hoose
1989-1994
John Conley
1995-2005
Mark A. Smith
2006-2017
Jon S. Kulaga
2017–2022
Ronald E. Smith
2022-2024
Campus
The university sits on the outskirts of Circleville, Ohio. Classes are located in the Maxwell Center, Johnson Hall, and the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center. Students reside as freshmen in York Hall and Moore Hall. From there, they may choose to live in New Hall for women and New 2 Hall for men, or a selection of on-campus townhouses.
Since 2008, Maxwell Center has expanded by adding the executive center and a student development center.
The Student Involvement Council (SIC) offers activities throughout the school year. A popular activity is midnight breakfast, an event scheduled at the beginning of final examinations week, catered by favorite staff and faculty.
Chapel is housed in the Ministry & Performing Arts Center and is offered twice weekly (Tuesday and Thursday mornings). Students come to worship with a live student band and hear a message by professors or special guest speakers. There is a required number of times that every student must attend chapel while enrolled at Ohio Christian.
The Hickman Student Center houses dining facilities, the office of Student Development, the department of psychology, and several classrooms. In addition, there is a full Christian bookstore, a coffee shop, and an game room.
Athletics
The Ohio Christian athletic teams are called the Trailblazers. The university was formerly a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the River States Conference (RSC; formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) until after the 2015–16 school year) since the 2015–16 academic year.[6] They are now members of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), competing as an independent in the Mideast Region at the Division I level.
Ohio Christian competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include disc golf and eSports. OCU plans to add women's swimming for the 2025/2026 academic year.
