I bought my house in 1995 for $79,000, after I moved to Athens for a teaching and chair position. As a single professor, I was able to offer rooms to lecturers and visiting professors. I paid the mortgage off in 2005 and kept the house as a rental investment property ever since.

When Harold (Mack) McElhaney and his wife Gloria, BSHSS ’83, moved to Athens in 1978, the Appalachia natives felt right at home. Mack was Ohio University’s new athletic director, and the fresh start gave Gloria the opportunity to chase her dream of completing higher education to become a teacher.

Through much of their lives, Larry Gates and his wife, Mary, travelled and lived abroad pursuing his career in international management, opportunities they largely attribute to higher education.

Pete Lalich, BSED ’66, MED ’67, like many who fall in love with Athens while students, did not leave town after graduation, but rather made a life for himself in the local community.

Walter Johnson, BSCOM ’56, refers to his time in Athens as a “formulating experience,” one enriched by his proud involvement with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and ROTC program.