"The history of a living institution is the story of its people," write the editors of A Book of Memories: Kent State University 1910-1992. Indeed, this lavish book beautifully combines prose and photographs to record the history of the people and place that is Kent State University. Carefully balancing historical overviews of higher education trends, political climates, and social and cultural movements with anecdotal reminiscences of campus life, this moving photographic narrative follows the university from its normal school beginnings in 1910 to its present status as a comprehensive state institution of higher learning.
Essays by six distinguished faculty and administrators provide personal insight and fond memories of the major eras of Kent's history. The late Robert I. White (d. 1990), professor of education and president emeritus (1963-1971), contributes a historical overview of the university's 10 presidents. Phillip R. Shriver, president emeritus of Miami University and former professor of history and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent, details the occasion of Kent's founding and its early years. Marvin R. Koller, professor emeritus of sociology, recounts the changing campus scene of 1930's and 1940's. Martin K. Nurmi, professor emeritus of English and former dean of the Graduate College records the university's tremendous growth in the late 1940s and the 1960s. Lawrence S. Kaplan, University Professor of history and former director of the Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center for NATO Studies, describes the trials of the difficult 1970s after the tragedy of May 4. Michael Schwartz, president emeritus (1982-1991), professor of sociology and Trustees Professor, writes of the university's recovery and reconciliation in the 1980s. Hundreds of black-and-white and color photographs selected from the University Archives enhance the text.
A Book of Memories is about the whole university--its faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and students--and captures the unique character and spirit of what editor William Hildebrand calls "this exasperating and wonderful institution." A stroll through time over Kent's beautiful, rolling campus, past familiar faces and places, it will stir rich memories in anyone who has ever studied or worked at Kent State University.
About the Author: Emeritus professor of English William H. Hildebrand received his B.A. (1952) and M.A. (1954) degrees from Kent State University and his Ph.D. from Western Reserve University (1967). In addition to his scholarly studies of English and American Romantic writers, he coedited a photographic history, A Book of Memories: Kent State University 1910-1992 (Kent State University Press, 1993). He received an Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award in 1971 and a President's Medal in 1996. He is married to Kent State alumna Ann Meinzen Hildebrand ('55). Dean H. Keller, formerly associate dean of libraries and professor of libraries and media services at Kent State University, received his B.A. (1955) and M.L.S. (1958) from Kent State.
Anita D. Herington, formerly executive assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Trustees at Kent State University, received her B.S. (1971) and M.A. (1987) from Kent State.
