Countdown to Centennial
Celebration Spotlights Kent State 'Firsts'
By Rob Jewell, ’70, M.A. ’79
This article continues the series about Kent State history as the university approaches its 100th anniversary in 2010.
Remember your first visit to Kent State, most likely with your parents in tow? Remember your first class, first roommate, first romance (and heartbreak?), first all-nighter, first drink at one of the favorite downtown watering holes, first sporting event, first Homecoming after graduation? For many students, these firsts — and a host of others — help to shape their Kent State experience.
Likewise, a number of firsts over the years have helped to shape the university, beginning with its founding in 1910 as a teaching training school, the Kent Normal School. Below are a few of the many Kent State firsts. If you would like to add additional ones to the list, visit www.kent.edu/magazine, or send them to Kent State Magazine, University Communications and Marketing, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, Ohio 44242-0001.
In the very early years …
- First president: John Edward McGilvrey (1911–26)
- Until classes could be held on the Kent Campus, McGilvrey in 1912 organized Ohio’s first extension courses, hiring four instructors to teach 29 classes for 849 students enrolled at 20 Kent Normal School Extension Centers throughout Northeast Ohio. These centers were the forerunners to Kent State’s network of Regional Campuses.
- First classes held on the Kent Campus: May 1913, with 47 students and 20 teachers.
- First classroom building: Merrill Hall; first residence hall: Lowry Hall.
- First courses offered: agriculture, psychology, principles of teaching, school administration and history of education.
- First class graduated: July 1914. Ohio Gov. James M. Cox delivered the commencement address to 34 graduates.
With graduates come …
- The Alumni Association: first established in 1911; held its first activity, Alumni Day, in 1915, with about 200 alumni and friends in attendance.
- First Homecoming: first held in 1918; it featured the senior class play, As You Like It, and indoor baseball games between faculty and students.
- The alma mater: “Hail to Thee, O Alma Mater”; first published in the Kent songbook in 1931. E. Turner Stump wrote the lyrics; music by Dwight Steere.
Student activities and organizations …
- First student society: The Walden Dramatic Club (1913); published the university’s first yearbook, The Chestnut Burr (1914).
- First student newspapers: the Normal High School News (1914) and The Kentonian (1915).
- First honorary fraternity: Chi Pi, the honorary journalism fraternity (1927).
- First national social sorority on campus: Chi Omega, formerly Kappa Lambda (1947).
- The first local fraternity: Kappa Mu Kappa (1923); became the first national fraternity on campus, Delta Upsilon (1948).
And sports …
- Kent State’s first intercollegiate athletic team: baseball, the Normal Nine (1914).
- First basketball team: 1914-15 season.
- First intercollegiate football game: Oct. 30, 1920, against Ashland. Kent State lost, 6-0.
- First postseason football game: the Refrigerator Bowl in Evansville, Ind. (1954).
- And the university’s first mascot: the Silver Fox (1920), named because President McGilvrey raised them.
Other notable firsts include …
- President Emeritus Carol A. Cartwright: first woman to serve as president of a state university in Ohio.
- Dr. Oscar Ritchie, professor of sociology from 1947 to 1967: first African-American to be appointed to a faculty position at any state university in Ohio.
- First honorary degree awarded at Kent State: to John A. McDowell in June 1924.
And you didn’t think we would forget…
- First black squirrels: came to Kent State in 1961. Then-grounds superintendent Larry Woodell brought 10 squirrels to campus from London, Ontario, Canada.
Sources: A Book of Memories (Kent State University Press, 1993); A History of Kent State University: Nearing a Century of Kent Pride, by William H. Hildebrand, professor emeritus of English; Fact File: Important Dates and Facts in the History of Kent State University (compiled by Kent State’s Public Affairs Office, 1960); Pathways, by Fred F. Endres; Kent State University Alumni Association.
