May H. Prentice

May H. Prentice was the first woman faculty member hired by President John McGilvrey for the Kent State Normal School in 1912. (She was hired along with faculty members John T. Johnson and George E. Marker and McGilvrey’s assistant, Helen M. Atkinson.)

A teacher since 1873, Prentice began her work at the Kent State Normal School in fall 1912 before the first buildings on the campus (Lowry and Merrill halls) were completed. She taught extension courses at several of the more than 20 centers throughout the region.

In May 1913, she became director of elementary training. In 1927, she was made professor of education and taught English, history of education and school management until she retired in 1930. (As Kent State Normal School expanded its offerings and grew from awarding two-year diplomas to four-year baccalaureate degrees and then graduate degrees, its name reflected those changes. It became Kent State Normal College in 1915, Kent State College in 1929 and Kent State University in 1935.)

In describing Prentice, the 1917 Chestnut Burr says: “A great teacher, exponent of women’s suffrage, and friend to the student teacher, Miss Prentice has assured herself a permanent place in the hall of fame of pedagogy.”

On March 29, 1934, The Kent Stater announced that the memorial gate built in 1930 was to be named in Prentice’s honor and noted: “Many of her policies are in effect today at the training school; her song “Climbing the Hill at Kent” [aka “Kent State,” see Flashback] is sung by undergraduates of the present generation and she is revered by thousands of her former students as ‘a woman with an understanding heart.’”

“A great teacher, exponent of women’s suffrage, and friend to the student teacher, Miss Prentice has assured herself a permanent place in the hall of fame of pedagogy.”

May H. Prentice Memorial Gate, at the corner of East Main and South Lincoln streets, was dedicated to May Prentice on Jan. 15, 1935, by alumni of the classes of 1928–1934. Unable to be present at the dedication, she responded by letter and called the gate “a fitting symbol of the college . . . as an entrance into the larger life.” She also added, “I cannot deny that my pleasure in seeing my name on the bronze tablet is akin to that of the child who sees his name on the honor roll. I am quite sure, however, that it attained that high place by grace rather than desert. So I thank you with all my heart.” 

May Prentice died at her home three weeks later, on Feb. 6, 1935, of a heart ailment at age 79. 

According to the president of the Alumni Association at the time, “Among the spontaneous and sincere tributes paid her by her intimate associates is the statement that ‘she was the kind of person to whom no one was afraid to go with his difficulties. She was remarkably intelligent and clever, yet never domineering or intimidating to anyone seeking help or advice.’”

Over time, the memorial gate became damaged by road salt when Route 59 expanded and moved closer to the structure. In 2008, the gate was replicated with modern materials and relocated away from the street. It has served as a formal entrance to the Kent Campus.

Prentice Hall, located near Taylor Hall and the MACC Annex, was dedicated to Prentice in 1959. It still serves as a residence hall, with accessible rooms for students with disabilities.

On May 4, 1970, the Prentice Hall parking lot became the site of a tragedy. As a result of a request from the May 4th Task Force student organization, the university installed markers locating the sites in the Prentice Hall parking lot where the four students were killed on May 4, 1970. The markers were dedicated on Sept. 8, 1999, and participants stand vigil near them at each annual commemoration.

Recently, the university installed bronze markers at each location in the ground and Prentice Hall parking lot where the nine students were wounded, along with their distance from the Ohio National Guard when the shots were fired. The dedication of the markers, originally planned for the 50th Commemoration, will take place virtually on May 4, 2021.

In fall 2016, Kent State opened Prentice Cafe in Prentice Hall, becoming the first university in the country to provide gluten-free dining options for students. In 2021, the dining area has been repurposed as extra studio space for architecture students to meet social distancing guidelines during the pandemic. (Gluten-free dining options are now available at other locations on the Kent Campus, including the new DI Hub.)

May Prentice House, originally located at 128 S. Willow St., was Prentice’s home during her time in Kent. After her death in 1935, her sisters, Georgianna and Eugenia, continued to live there, and Georgianna Prentice rented its rooms to students until the early 1950s.

In February 2012, the university hired movers to lift the house, which dates from the early 1900s, and move it several lots south to a temporary location while construction continued on the Lester A. Lefton Esplanade walkway extension between downtown Kent and the Kent Campus.

In March 2013, the house was moved to its present location on the walkway between Willow and Lincoln streets—opposite the site of what is now the John Elliot Center for Architecture and Environmental Design. It became the new home of the Wick Poetry Center, dedicated Sept. 26, 2014.

The historic home was renovated to provide a larger and more flexible space for Wick programs and community use. In addition to housing the Wick staff and intern offices, the house offers a digital classroom, the Stan and Tom Wick Library, the Jo Woodward Reading Room and a third-floor Poet’s Loft for quiet reflection and student conferences. It is adjacent to the center’s Poetry Park.

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