Founders’ Spotlight: Novice G. Fawcett

Fawcett Hall, completed in 1967, was the fourth of the original four buildings on the University Quadrangle. The building was named for Novice G. Fawcett. Novice was a lifelong “school man” who started his career as a high school teacher in Gambier, Ohio, worked his way up the school administration ladder until eventually becoming superintendent  of Columbus city schools. The culmination of his career happened in 1956 when he was elected eighth president of The Ohio State University, a position he held for sixteen years. Dr. Fawcett carried an incredible amount of influence in the state of Ohio, and his role in the development of Wright State University is unmistakable.

Dr. Fawcett delivered Ohio State as a strategic partner in the push to build a new state university in Dayton. He was very aware of the looming enrollment boom in Ohio universities and saw the extension of the state university system as a necessary solution. The Dayton university project provided strategic value for Ohio State as well in support of their extension programs that had been held in Dayton for many years; it provided a campus for these programs. With the backing of Dr. Fawcett and The Ohio State University, the Dayton university project received the state level support it needed to move forward. In recognition of these contributions to Wright State’s development, Fawcett Hall was named in his honor.

You can find more photos of Novice G. Fawcett in the University Archives collection, the Dayton Daily News Archive (MS-458, Box 1255, “Fawcett, Novice G.”), and (through the end of the summer) in the “Founders’ Quad” exhibit on the first floor of Dunbar Library.

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