Auroraadvocate.com - Kaleidoscope: KSU's first century had highs and lows

by Ken Lahmers

Editor

In 2010, Kent State University will celebrate 100 years since the state Legislature established Kent Normal College in Portage County.

Although those first 100 years may best be remembered for one unfortunate incident -- the May 4, 1970, shootings -- a lot of other things have happened -- some positive, some not.

The story of KSU's first 100 years is brilliantly told in a new book -- "A Most Noble Enterprise: The Story of Kent State University, 1910-2010" -- by emeritus professor of English William H. Hildebrand.

The book was published this summer by Kent State University Press.

He previously co-edited a photographic history called "A Book of Memories: Kent State University, 1910-1992." He received an alumni distinguished teaching award in 1971 and a president's medal in 1996.

The book details the early struggles of the college, takes a look at its 11 presidents, touches on some of the politics involved with the school's board of trustees, and discusses May 4, 1970, its aftermath and the recent years.

As a KSU alumnus, I found it to be an engaging historic treasure. One evening this fall I stayed up until nearly 4 a.m. because I couldn't put the book down.

As the front inside jacket of the book states:

"Long after the centennial celebrations and speeches have faded from memory, 'A Most Noble Enterprise' will stand as a testament to Kent State's dedication to the ancient purpose of a university education -- the advancement of learning."

College gets started

It was the fall of 1910 when a state board of commissioners came to Kent via train to survey the surroundings for a new teacher training school.

Many towns were visited, and area observers believed Hudson would be favored because it boasted a ready-made campus left behind by the move of Western Reserve Academy seven years earlier.

In the early 1900s, only Ohio State, Miami and Ohio University existed as state-operated colleges. The panel also established a normal college for Northwest Ohio in Bowling Green.

William S. Kent made a generous offer to donate his farm so the state could begin building the college. The selection board apparently fell in love with that site.

When the board announ-ced its decision to locate the school in Kent in early 1911, Kent Normal's board of trustees offered to pay John E. McGilvrey of Western Illinois State Normal College $3,750 a year to become its first president.

He accepted, and the task of getting the school off the ground fell on his shoulders. Construction began on Merrill Hall, which housed offices, classrooms, labs and an auditorium, and Lowry Hall, the first women's dormitory.

Those buildings are part of the front campus, and later were joined by Moulton, Kent, Rockwell, Franklin and McGilvrey halls and the Administration Building (now Cartwright Hall).

Rockwell Hall, which was the library for many years and was the registrar's headquarters when I attended KSU, now houses the Kent State University Museum and School of Fashion Design and Merchandising.

The area which sloped down to East Main Street from the crescent of early buildings was called "Normal Hill."

McGilvrey and beyond

McGilvrey was an innovative soul. He set up 20 regional learning centers in the region between Dover, Ashland, Ashtabula and East Liverpool.

Even in the early years, he looked down the road toward transforming the normal college into a full-fledged university, and that got him into trouble with the trustees.

They claimed McGilvrey had become "too controversial," and, despite protests from students and the community, decided to remove him in July 1925 after nearly 15 years of service.

Eleven years later (1936), the school achieved univer-sity status. The governor who signed the bill was Kent native Martin L. Davey of Davey Tree Expert Co. fame.

McGilvrey eventually was hired back as an administrator, but not as president.

The 1930s brought further facilities to the campus via the Works Project Administration. Included were a football field along Summit Street and Kent Hall, then called Science Hall.

By 1939, Kent had educated 7,463 teachers via its two-year diploma program.

With the GI Bill bringing thousands of new students to the campus in the post-World War II era, campus facilities were bursting at the seams, and a bevy of new construction ensued.

Among the additions were the former Student Union, DeWeese Health Center (now the university police department), Memorial Gym/Stadium and VanDeusen Hall.

In the 1950s came Terrace Hall, which was razed just two years ago, the Verder, Johnson, Dunbar and Prentice dormitories and an addition to Rockwell Hall.

By 1959, the university's enrollment had reached 7,554, compared to fewer than 1,000 in the early 1940s. President George Bowman served during the fast-growing years from 1944 to 1963.

Fraternities and sororities cropped up on campus in the 1930s and flourished until the war, then faded somewhat. A rebirth occurred in the 1950s.

The tumultuous 1960s

Campus unrest began building in the 1960s, and the Students for a Democratic Society's mission was to drive ROTC units off university campuses.

From May 1-4, 1970, the atmosphere was tense on campus and in Kent, and university/city officials called Gov. James A. Rhodes, who dispatched the Ohio National Guard to town.

With hundreds of students milling around the Taylor Hall (Blanket Hill) area, guardsmen feared for their safety and fired several volleys, which killed four students and wounded nine.

Aurora resident Roseann Canfora's brother, Alan, was one of the wounded.

Dix Stadium, the current library and the Student Center were some of the major facilities added in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The latter two were brand new when I came to the campus.

Things quieted down within a couple of years after the shootings and the end of the Vietnam War. The atmosphere was serene when I was there from fall 1973 to spring 1975.

But protests returned in the late 1970s when KSU officials proposed to build the Gym Annex, which encroached onto Blanket Hill, where the May 4 shootings unfolded.

For 60 days, a "tent city" existed on the nearby commons until KSU officials decided to have the tents and their occupants removed.

1980s until the present

After Robert I. White stepped down in the early 1970s, Glenn Olds, Brage Golding and Michael Schwartz served as president. By 1988, enrollment at eight KSU campuses approached 30,000. It is about 34,000 today.

In 1991, the first female president of an Ohio state university -- Carol Cartwright -- took over, and served until 2005.

During her tenure, new facilities were erected and others renovated.

Memorial Gym, University Auditorium (the old administration building), Kent, McGilvrey, Cunningham, Lowry and Merrill halls were renovated, and the Centennial dormitories went up.

Lester Lefton came on the scene as president in 2006. Most of the buildings at KSU, by the way, are named after former presidents, trustees and esteemed professors.

It's been quite a journey for KSU, and hopefully it will continue so that someone can write a book about the second 100 years.

E-mail:

klahmers@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155