institution. Concerns over the separation of church and state led WU's theology department to separate and establish the independent Payne Theological Seminary. The state-funded division of the school separated from WU in 1947 and became what is today known as Central State University.
The university currently offers twenty-five academic programs of undergraduate and graduate study. Since 1966, the school has emphasized cooperative education in which students do internships in their field of study in addition to their coursework. The school is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and its athletic teams, the Bulldogs, compete in the HBCU Athletic Conference.
== History ==
=== 19th century ===
==== Background ====
At the time Ohio became a state in 1802, it did so as a free state with the slave states of Kentucky and Virginia along its southern border. Ohio became a major thoroughfare for the Underground Railroad during the 19th century with an estimated 40,000 slaves escaping …
