improving these buildings to make them usable for the new school.
==== Pre-Civil War years: 1856-1860 ====
Wilberforce University's first board was deliberately selected to represent more Christian faith backgrounds than just the MEC, with board members making up representation from a variety of Christian denominations. One of the school's original board members was abolitionist Salmon P. Chase who was then the 23rd governor of Ohio and later became Chief Justice of the United States. It was also a multi-racial board. Some of the other original 24 members of the board of trustees included Daniel A. Payne, Lewis Woodson, Ishmael Keith, and Alfred Anderson, all of the AME Church.
On September 16, 1856 the Reverend F. Merrick was elected president of Wilberforce University by the WU's board. Merrick, however, turned the position down, and the board was forced to look elsewhere. M. P. Gaddis Jr. served as principal of the school during its first year, and the school opened in October 1856 with a dedication ceremony …
