Ohio University and the town it shapes — images from Athens

Photographer Rich-Joseph Facun's project 1804 examines life in the Appalachian foothills around Athens, Ohio. He turns his lens on the university founded in 1804 to explore how heritage, socioeconomic forces and youth culture are shaped by its presence. The institution is a progressive enclave within a largely conservative landscape and functions as a company town, its campus the dominant employer and cultural force.

Federal funding cuts enacted during the Trump administration have triggered staff layoffs, the cancellation of student visas and anxiety over a looming decline in high-school graduates. Ohio University enrols more than 30,000 students, roughly 61% of whom identify as female.

After Ohio passed the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act in 2025, banning diversity and inclusion initiatives at publicly funded universities, the university’s Women’s Center closed, and recent cuts have eliminated academic programmes and closed offices that once forged intergenerational ties with the town.

United States, Athens, Ohio

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