The University of Cincinnati (commonly referred to as Cincinnati or UC) is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, in the U.S. state of Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio.

Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 40,000 students, making it the second largest university in Ohio and one of the largest universities in the United States. In the 2010 survey by Times Higher Education (UK), the university was ranked in the top 100 universities in North America and as one of the top 200 in the world. In the 2012 edition of US News and World Report, the University of Cincinnati was ranked as a Tier One university.

The university garners nearly $500 million per annum in research funding, ranking 22nd among public universities in the US. Numerous programs across the university are nationally ranked, including: aerospace engineering, anthropology, architecture, classics, composition, conducting, cooperative education, criminal justice, design, environmental science, law, medicine, music, musical theater, neurology, opera, otolaryngology, paleontology, pediatrics and pharmacy.

Cincinnati (pronounced /sɪnsɨˈnæti/) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. Settled in 1788, the city is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits was 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's third-largest city. According to the 2011 Census Bureau estimate, the Cincinnati metropolitan area had a population of 2,138,038, the 27th most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States, and the most populous in Ohio. Residents of Cincinnati are called Cincinnatians.

In the early 19th century, Cincinnati was the first American boomtown in the heart of the country to rival the larger coastal cities in size and wealth. As the first major inland city in the country, it is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city. It developed initially without as much recent European immigration or influence as took place in eastern cities. However, by the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads, Cincinnati's growth had slowed considerably and the city became surpassed in population and prominence by another inland city, Chicago.

Barack Hussein Obama II (ⁱ/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005, Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In April 2011, he announced that he would be running for re-election in 2012.

Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.

Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Well known albums also include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.

Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, a former Governor of New Mexico, and the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. Johnson served as the 29th Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, as a member of the Republican Party, and is known for his low-tax libertarian views and his regular participation in triathlons.

Johnson founded one of New Mexico's largest construction companies. He entered politics for the first time by running for Governor of New Mexico in 1994 on a fiscally conservative, low-tax, anti-crime platform. He beat incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King by 50% to 40%. He cut the 10% annual growth in the budget: using his gubernatorial veto 200 times during his first six months in office. His use of the veto over his two terms gained him the nickname "Governor Veto".

Johnson sought re-election in 1998, winning by 55% to 45%. In his second term, he concentrated on the issue of school voucher reforms, as well as campaigning for marijuana decriminalization. During his tenure as governor, Johnson adhered to an anti-tax and anti-bureaucracy policy, setting state and national records for his use of veto powers: more than the other 49 contemporary governors put together.Term-limited, Johnson could not run for re-election at the end of his second term.