Dr. Patricia A. Ackerman (BA '66) proposed the idea of the African American Alumni Heritage Wall at Ohio University, located in the lobby of Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium during a Black Alumni Reunion. The wall is an opportunity for Black alumni to thank and honor those who made their degrees possible. Plaques displayed include the names of graduates and those who helped support their matriculation at Ohio University. It was Dr. Ackerman's vision that the wall would serve as a constant and visible reminder of OHIO's Black alumni heritage and the lasting mark these alumni and friends have made on the University. Gifts to this account will provide support for the preservation of the wall, including but not limited to renovations, maintenance, upkeep, and improvements.
Give Now to say, "Yes, I want to be recognized on Ohio University’s African American Alumni Heritage Wall!"
It's a minimum gift of $100 to have your name inscribed, as well as a minimum $100 gift for each additional name you want to honor on the wall along with you.
Names and graduation years (to be inscribed on a plaque and placed on the wall) will be entered on the next screen — following name and billing address sections.
Memorial Auditorium was renamed for John Newton Templeton and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, the first African American man and woman to graduate from Ohio University. African American graduates will always be part of the Templeton and Blackburn legacy, but how can this legacy be linked with future generations?
The African American Alumni Heritage Wall will ensure that this legacy is preserved by listing all African American alumni who want to be recognized, along with those individuals who were instrumental in helping them achieve their goal of attending and graduating from Ohio University.
From Templeton and Blackburn to current alumni and today’s students, coming to Athens has changed lives, transformed dreams, and inspired so many to honor the opportunities won through the sacrifices and struggles of those who came before them.
Graduates are proud of who they became at the University, and their lives and achievements continue to make a difference to all. Now, those graduates can make the same kind of difference to future generations of African American students at Ohio University.
The dedication of the African American Alumni Heritage Wall took place during Homecoming 1999 in the East Lobby of Memorial Auditorium. Then-Ohio University President Robert Glidden and Trustee Patricia A. Ackerman unveiled the Heritage Wall and the names of all charter members. Additional names will be placed on the Heritage Wall annually, as our goal is to eventually include all African American graduates of Ohio University in this ongoing commemoration.
“Legacies of John Newton Templeton, John R. Blackburn, and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn at Ohio University are manifest in the successful matriculation and graduation of African American students for nearly two centuries. Embracing this heritage with pride, African American alumni named here celebrate the triumph of their individual accomplishments and honor those who shared in making them reality. May all who follow be inspired by their collective stories of challenge and achievement.” —Patricia A. Ackerman ’66, Heritage Wall Inscription