Although the Mershon Center was formally established by The Ohio State University Trustees in 1967, it is necessary and accurate to add that its origins can be traced back to 1954 when the will of Colonel Ralph D. Mershon, an alumnus, was probated. That document provided that not less than 50 percent of the income from the bequest be spent for the promotion of activities that can be said to fall within the area of national security.

Following a period of years during which a university-wide faculty committee administered the funds made available from the restricted endowment income, the Trustees approved what amounted in essence to a social science program of national security studies to be administered by a director. The late Edgar S. Furniss, Jr., came from Princeton in 1963 to conceive and implement the new program. Until his untimely death in 1966, Furniss' extremely effective leadership made possible a series of faculty appointments, doctoral fellowships, widely heralded international conferences, and high quality, scholarly publications whose enduring relevance and impact are plainly visible years later.