May 4

The names of those killed on May 4, 1970, are displayed on the B’nai B’rith Hillel Marker in the parking lot of Prentice Hall on the campus of Kent State University.

The Kent State University Board of Trustees passed a resolution at its March 6 meeting expressing appreciation to the May 4 Task Force and all those whose dedicated efforts have preserved the legacy and advanced the lessons learned from the events of May 4, 1970.  

The names of those killed on May 4, 1970, are displayed on the B’nai B’rith Hillel Marker in the parking lot of Prentice Hall on the campus of Kent State University.

The Kent State University Board of Trustees passed a resolution at its March 6 meeting expressing appreciation to the May 4 Task Force and all those whose dedicated efforts have preserved the legacy and advanced the lessons learned from the events of May 4, 1970.  

Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970.

Growing up, Chris Post watched as his mom juggled her collegiate studies and motherhood, balancing everyday life with dreams of earning her Ph.D. And while field excursions with his biologist mom are a memory of his childhood, the impact of place is something this cultural and historical geographer seeks to define today.

Chris Post, Ph.D., associate professor of geography at Kent State University at Stark, is a memorials expert who serves as a member of Kent State President Beverly J. Warren’s Advisory Committee for the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970.

Growing up, Chris Post watched as his mom juggled her collegiate studies and motherhood, balancing everyday life with dreams of earning her Ph.D. And while field excursions with his biologist mom are a memory of his childhood, the impact of place is something this cultural and historical geographer seeks to define today.

A visitor learns about the events surrounding May 4, 1970 while visiting the May 4 Visitors Center

Kent State University sophomore Phil Morgan said he learned about the May 4, 1970, shootings during a history lesson in middle school that included few details, except the fact that the Ohio National Guard’s presence at a student protest ended in the deaths of four students.

Kent Campus
Artist Don Drumm poses with a photo of his sculpture that was shot on May 4, 1970, at Kent State University.

Pictured (left to right) are Bradley Keefer, Mindy Farmer, Laura Davis, Burt Logan of the Ohio History Connection, Lori Boes and Mark Seeman. (Photo courtesy of the Ohio History Connection)

The Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office Awards has recognized Kent State University with a 2018 Public Education and Awareness Award.

Kent State associate professors Karen Cunningham and Idris Kabir Syed, co-instructors of the course titled May 4, 1970, and Its Aftermath, discuss the print, Lament: Four Dead at Kent, by Linda Lyke, a digital resource from the May 4 Collection.

Nearly five decades have passed since Ohio National Guardsmen fired into a gathering of protesting students on the campus of Kent State University, killing four, wounding nine and impacting generations.