Kuhn House 100th Anniversary

The Kuhn Honors and Scholars House was originally constructed as the second President’s Residence on campus. 

The Tudor-revival house dates back to 1925, when The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved plans to build a new residence for the University President. It was completed in 1926, at a cost of about $72,000. George Rightmire, the sixth Ohio State President, and his family became the first to live in the new President’s Residence, moving in during the summer of 1926. 

At that point in time, the house was considered on the far south edge of campus, away from the bustle of High Street, where the first President’s Residence was located, now the site of Mershon Auditorium. The large wood doors opposite of the stairway was the original front entrance. Stories say the reason the front entrance does not face 12^th Avenue is because the residence was originally planned to be built south of 12^th Avenue, where Bradley Hall is now. The site was moved across the street, and some say the plans were never turned around to accommodate its new location. 

Ohio State Presidents Howard Landis Beavis and Novice G. Fawcett also lived in the residence during their terms. Ohio State Presidents used the house as their personal residence, but also as a place to host university functions, or overnight guests such as commencement speakers. President Fawcett hosted influential individuals such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, and Barbara Walters, among many more. Students were also known to knock on the front door and sometimes be greeted by the President themselves. 

In 1972, shortly before President Fawcett’s retirement, the President’s Residence was moved off campus. The house was then used by a variety of university offices, including the National Center of Educational Media and Materials for the Handicapped and the College of Administrative Science (now the Fisher College of Business). Briefly, preliminary plans were drawn up to demolish the building, but these plans were changed the following year. 

In 1985, after some additional renovations, the University Honors Center moved in. The homey, Tudor-style fixtures were kept in place and have remained, with the goal of ensuring that even now, every Honors and Scholars student feels at home here. In 1989, the house was renamed in honor of Albert J. Kuhn, the first University Honors Center director, former Provost and a beloved Professor of English. 

From 1991-92, the house was extensively remodeled to include new seminar and meeting rooms, student and staff office space, a conservatory, and a workroom. Since then, the Kuhn House has continued to receive minor updates to support its continuing function while maintaining its historical significance on campus. 

Kuhn Honors and Scholars House is now a first-class facility for classes, studying, meetings, special events, and administration of the Office of Academic Enrichment, which includes the University Honors and Scholars Center.