Toledo Reporter

The University of Toledo turns 150 only once.

To mark this historic occasion, UToledo is hosting a commemorative Founder’s Day celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 12, featuring a day of fun, food, fireworks and music, featuring Grammy-winning rapper T-Pain.

“Our sesquicentennial is truly a once-in-a-lifetime anniversary that connects generations of Rockets,” said Dr. Gregory Postel, UToledo president. “I look forward to joining the UToledo family — past, present and future — and our neighbors and supporters across the region as we come together on our beautiful campus to celebrate our 150-year history and UToledo’s bright future.”

The sesquicentennial celebration kicks off for the UToledo campus community with the Founders’ Day BBQ from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at both Centennial Mall on Main Campus and the Outdoor Amphitheater by Four Season’s Bistro on Health Science Campus.

Chartwells will serve free hamburgers — regular and veggie — hot dogs, chips and birthday cake on both campuses, and SuperGames will provide the outdoor activities including axe throwing, bouncy boxing and a photo station on Main Campus; and bounce a ball, dual skee-ball and zap a mole on Health Science Campus.

The Toledo area community is invited to join the celebration for a lecture on the history of UToledo and an evening of food trucks, live music and fireworks. On-campus parking will be free to the community on the University’s Main Campus on Wednesday, Oct. 12 after 2 p.m. Exclusions include handicap, reserved, patient and metered parking.

The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections opens its anniversary historical exhibition on Founder’s Day with a lecture by Barbara Floyd, retired university archivist and author of the upcoming book, “An Institution for the Promoting of Knowledge: The University of Toledo at 150.” Titled “Ten Events That Shaped 150 Years,” the lecture will begin at 3 p.m. in the Canaday Center, located on the fifth floor of Carlson Library.

T-Pain

The sesquicentennial exhibition, titled “Vision, Faith and Hard Work,” explores the events that shaped UToledo since its founding in 1872, with photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, ephemera and artifacts. The exhibit will be on display in the Canaday Center through Aug. 1, 2023.

A lineup of performances by national and local acts will take place from 5 to 10:20 p.m. in the parking lot south of the Glass Bowl. The concert kicks off with local bands Distant Cousinz and the Skittle Bots, followed by national acts country-rapper David Morris and country singer Nate Smith. T-Pain is the headliner.

A wide variety of food trucks will be in the parking lot from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., including Maybe Cheese Born With It (mac and cheese), Beastro Burger (hamburgers), Saucy Slamwhich (sandwiches), Trip’n Biscuits (biscuits and gravy), Dawg House 419 (hot dogs), SiSi’s the Food Truck (soul food), Jonny Burritos (burritos and tacos) and Fresh Squeezed (lemonade cart).

And to close Founder’s Day with an appropriate bang, a 13-minute fireworks show from Carter Field will illuminate Main Campus and the sky to the tunes of popular hits and UToledo favorites.

“Founder’s Day will be a memorable celebration for The University of Toledo’s milestone anniversary,” said Sammy Spann, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, and co-chair of the planning committee. “We look forward to sharing this special day with the Rocket community and beyond. We invite you to join us as we honor our 150 years of history.”

The Founder’s Day celebration is supported by generous sponsors, including Kripke Enterprises and ParkUToledo.

Smith

Established in 1872, The University of Toledo has a storied history with more than 168,000 alumni around the world. A year-long sesquicentennial celebration will recognize the historic milestones, achievements and the positive impact the University has had since its founding 150 years ago.

A new website, utoledo.edu/150celebration, was created in honor of the occasion. The website features institutional history, alumni profiles, sesquicentennial events and more. Members of the Rocket community can share their personal UToledo stories in honor of the celebration using the hashtag #UToledo150.

Special commemorative merchandise also is for sale online. And The University of Toledo Press is offering Floyd’s book, “An Institution for the Promoting of Knowledge: The University of Toledo at 150,” for pre-order now with shipping in October.

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