History
In 1870, then Governor of Ohio and future President of the United States Rutherford B. Hayes spoke of the creation of a public land grant flagship university. In 1887, following the creation of this vision and his own Presidency, Hayes became a Trustee of the University. In 1893 he was elected by his fellow Trustees to become President of the Board of Trustees.
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He presided over only one meeting, on January 10, 1893. He would die seven days later after falling ill on a trip to Cleveland on University business.
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According to Hayes Society legend on January 10, 1893 President Hayes appointed in secret a founding class of students to form a society that could gather students in community and act as an invisible hand to guide the school to his goal of being the preeminent public flagship university. He passed before a name could be chosen and instead it was named in his memory.
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A member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows himself, President Hayes was outspoken about the benefits a secret society has upon its members and their community. In an 1887 speech in Freemont, Ohio, President Hayes remarked, "The beneficial societies, commonly known as secret societies (in fact, they are secret chiefly in name, and secret only to guard against imposture) ... gather under the same friendly roof in close intimacy persons differing widely in occupation, politics, religion, and conditions of life and fuse them easily and naturally into complete harmony and cordial friendship."​
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