Featured May 4

“Our Brother Jeff,” a new exhibition at Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center, honors the life of Jeffrey Miller, one of the four Kent State students shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970.

Guests of Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center can learn more about Jeffrey Miller, one of the four students shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, by visiting “Our Brother Jeff,” a new exhibition at the visitors center that honors Miller’s life. The exhibition will be on display from Oct. 19, 2019, to Feb. 29, 2020. Russ Miller, Jeff’s brother, helped create the exhibition by loaning some of Jeff’s personal items to the May 4 Visitors Center. 

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will speak at Kent State University at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 as part of the university’s May 4 Speaker Series.

Mitch Landrieu, the New Orleans mayor who oversaw the removal of the city’s prominent Confederate monuments and helped his city to recover and reemerge from a series of natural disasters, will speak at Kent State as part of the university’s May 4 Speaker Series.

Kent State University is offering a community course at the May 4 Visitors Center that deals with the historical, cultural, social and political contexts of events before, during and after the May 4, 1970, shootings.

Kent State University is offering a community course that deals with the historical, cultural, social and political contexts of events before, during and after the May 4, 1970, shootings. The free course, Making Meaning of May 4: The Kent State Shootings in American History, will be held Oct. 16, 23 and 30 at the university’s May 4 Visitors Center.

Kent State University alumna Pat Gless reflects on May 4, 1970, near what was then the ambulance bay of the old Ravenna hospital.

In the spring of 1970, two-time Kent State University alumna and registered nurse Pat Gless was a junior in Kent State’s inaugural nursing program. While in class on Monday, May 4, a professor rushed into her classroom and warned students who could leave campus to do so. Fifty years later, Gless now reflects on the events surrounding that tragedy and how they have impacted her life and nursing career.

Moments of Truth is a new book on May 4, 1970, by Kent State Alumnus Howard Ruffner

On the morning of May 4, 1970, Kent State University student Howard Ruffner was hanging out in the office of the Daily Kent Stater in Taylor Hall when the phone rang.

The Midwest editor from Life magazine, based in Chicago, was calling to find out if there were any student photographers who had been taking photos over the weekend. Kent State had been the scene of student protests for several days, and more demonstrations were expected that day.  

Shown is "Make Amerikkka Great Again" (2019), designed by Kent State University Fashion School student Colin Isaacs.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of May 4, 1970, when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State University students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine, students and faculty from Kent State’s School of Fashion Design and Merchandising are bringing attention to current social issues in the new exhibition called “Wearing Justice: Perspectives From KSU Fashion School Faculty and Students” that is on display now at the Kent State University Museum.

Library books

Plenty has been written about May 4, 1970. Ken Burhanna, dean of Kent State University Libraries, offers his preferred reading list.

 

Kent State Professor Laura Davis teaches a class on May 4, 1970.

A team of devoted Kent State faculty led the drive to achieve national recognition of the significance of May 4, 1970.
 

National Guard personnel and vehicle in foreground, crowd gathered by Taylor Hall in background

Kent State University Libraries’ May 4, 1970 Collection has been selected by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) to benefit from a $30,561 award through the Recordings at Risk grant program, generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Personal items of Bill Schroeder, including his Eagle Scout Award and Boy Scout sash showing his merit badges, are on display in a new exhibition at Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center called “Bill: An All-American Boy.”

From April 22 to Aug. 1, Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center will honor Bill Schroeder’s life with an exhibition titled “Bill: An All-American Boy.” Mr. Schroeder’s sister, Nancy Tuttle, and nephew, David Tuttle, helped create the exhibition by loaning some of his personal items to the May 4 Visitors Center.