In the 21st century the Observatory supports various public and academic astronomical activities and is a source for information such as NEO flybys in the community.

A devoutly religious Methodist and a man of deep convictions, he was also known as an uncompromising and demanding instructor.Perkins' believed that “The public should have an opportunity to see with a great telescope the objects such an instrument reveals and by so doing ‘Learn to love God and serve Him more acceptably.’"[3] Perkins graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1857, just nine years after the university was founded.

(At 6’4” tall and 97 pounds, his students referred to him as “the human skeleton.”) Perkins then returned to his family hog farm and worked to help feed the troops.

Applying his mathematical skills to the science of pork production, by war's end he had amassed an impressive (for the time) fortune.

After the war Perkins returned to his university teaching position and lived a very frugal life on his small salary.

It took 15 years to find an appropriate location and secure the necessary funding (Perkins himself provided about $250,000, the equivalent of roughly $3.8 million dollars in 2019, of the approximately $350,000 budget).

At this time no U.S. companies had experience in casting such a large mirror, so the National Bureau of Standards agreed to take on the project.

Early on it became apparent that the Ohio Wesleyan University simply did not have the staff or expertise necessary to operate one of the world's most important observatories.

Using the 69-inch (1.8 m) telescope he spent almost 20 years taking spectrographic plates of vast areas of the night sky.

In collaboration with William Wilson Morgan of Yerkes Observatory, Dr. Keenan helped to create the M-K System of Stellar Classification.

However, over the following decades, without a research instrument on site, interest in Perkins Observatory within the Ohio State University Astronomy Department declined.

The on-site staff shrank until there was just a part-time secretary and a building superintendent who had only a small maintenance budget.

There was not even enough money in the budget to maintain subscriptions to prominent astronomy magazines for the Observatory's library.

For some years a small dome detached and separated from the main observatory building housed a 0.6-meter f1.8 Schmidt telescope.

In the 1990s, Tom Burns, a member of the Columbus Astronomical Society and professor of English at the Ohio Wesleyan University, became Director of Perkins Observatory.

(In exchange for monthly meeting space and observatory access the CAS provides volunteer assistance with the many public programs.)

Unused office and storage space was converted into exhibit rooms, a children's play area and a small gift shop.

In September 1999 the original 69-inch (1.8 m) telescope mirror was retrieved from COSI (where it had been sitting in a closet for over a decade) and placed on display.

OSU withdrew from the 1935 agreement so it could apply its financial resources to purchasing time on the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham.

Staff members who were technically Ohio State University employees started receiving their paychecks from OWU.

Ed Krupp, Director of Griffith Observatory and John Dobson, inventor of the Dobsonian telescope, have both visited and lectured at Ohio Wesleyan thanks to Perkins sponsorship.)

Perkins Observatory is now the most visible and most reliable source of information related to astronomy and space exploration in central Ohio.

Television stations, newspapers, other local science museums, and members of the general public rely on Professor Burns and his staff to answer questions, provide perspective, make media appearances and dispel astronomical misconceptions.

In 2019, Perkin Observatory was noted for pointing out the flyby of the Near-Earth asteroid 1999 KW4 (66391 Moshup) by a local radio station.

Although the Ohio Wesleyan University is very supportive, it cannot by itself provide adequate monies for staff, program expansion, or maintenance on the historic building.

Retrofitting the building for public use while keeping its unique architectural identity has proved to be difficult, costly, and time-consuming.

Although lighting regulations exist which cover the surrounding area, enforcing compliance is a constant struggle.

Observatory staff recognizes that the day is coming when observation of deep sky objects will no longer be possible from the site.