<P> Michael V. Drake, former chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, assumed the role of university president on June 30, 2014 . </P> <P> In an attack against the campus on November 28, 2016, an unrelated fluorine leak was called in for Watts Hall, resulting in the evacuation of the building to an outside courtyard . As firetrucks began to depart, Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove into the crowd, then emerged and began stabbing those nearby . The attack was stopped in under two minutes by OSU Police Officer Alan Horujko, who witnessed the attack after responding to the reported gas leak, and who shot and killed Artan . The university's Buckeye Alert system was triggered and the campus was placed on lockdown . Ten were transported to local hospitals and one suspect was killed according to multiple sources . Local law enforcement and the FBI launched an investigation . According to authorities, Artan was inspired by terrorist propaganda from the Islamic State and radical Muslim cleric Anwar al - Awlaki . </P> <P> Ohio State's 1,764 - acre (714 ha) main campus is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of the city's downtown . The historical center of campus is the Oval, quad of about 11 acres (4.5 ha). Four buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Hale Hall (originally Enarson Hall), Hayes Hall, Ohio Stadium, and Orton Hall . Unlike earlier public universities such as Ohio University and Miami University, whose campuses have a consistent architectural style, architecture on the Ohio State campus is a mix of traditional, modern and post-modern styles . The William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, anchoring the Oval's western end, is Ohio State library's main branch and largest repository . The Thompson Library was designed in 1913 by the Boston firm of Allen and Collens in the Italianate Renaissance Revival style, and its placement on the Oval was suggested by the Olmsted brothers who had designed New York City's Central Park . In 2006, the Thompson Library began a $100 million renovation with the stated aims of becoming a "global benchmark twenty - first century" library while maintaining the building's classical Italian Renaissance architecture . </P> <P> Ohio State operates the North America's 18th - largest university research library with a combined collection of over 5.8 million volumes . Additionally, the libraries regularly receive about 35,000 serial titles . Its recent acquisitions were 16th among university research libraries in North America . Along with 21 libraries on its Columbus campus, the university has eight branches at off - campus research facilities and regional campuses, plus a book storage depository near campus . In all, the Ohio State library system encompasses 55 branches and specialty collections . Some of the more significant collections include The Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program, which contains the archives of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and other polar research materials; The Hilandar Research Library, which contains the world's largest collection of medieval Slavic manuscripts on microform; the Ohio State Cartoon Library & Museum, the world's largest repository of original cartoons; The Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute; and the archives of Senator John Glenn . </P>

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