The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, built in 1870 in accordance with Lincoln's 1862 Land-Grant Act, first opened its
doors for students during the September of 1873. Initially, President Stanton of Miami University through the Morrill Act was trying to
receive more state funding in the late nineteenth century and was instrumental in the founding of the Ohio State University. The
school was initially situated within a farming community located just on the outlying borders of Columbus, and was intended to
matriculate students of various agricultural and mechanical disciplines (as the name suggests). After a vote passed in favor of
instating a broader spectrum of educational offerings, the college subsequently changed its name in 1878 to the now-familiar "The
Ohio State University".Ohio State operated the largest and longest running radio
telescope SETI project (known as The Big Ear) in the world until 1998.