Kent State University - Chestnut Burr Yearbook (Kent, OH)

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Engleman hall, the first campus building to be faced with red brick rather than yellow, is constructed in 1937. force will prevent the conversion of the college into an insane asylum. Things seem to be looking up everywhere. They ' re reopening the banks, incomes are ris- ing, the railroads are being saved. The New Dealers are taking over and people are dream- ing again. In Kent they ' re dreaming of a University! A Neil ' University Rises By 1935, the Kent State University dream is a reality. A College of Business Administration coordinates with the existing Colleges of Edu- cation and Liberal Arts. A graduate program offers courses leading to the master ' s degree. Time advances. President Engleman re- tires in 1937, and a residence hall is built in his name the following year. Karl C. Leebrick is appointed next president. Like McGilvrey, Leebrick is a non-conform- ist and he promptly makes sweeping changes. Nineteen departments are placed in the College of Liberal Arts and organized in four divisions. Agriculture and library science are dropped. The schools of journalism, music, art and speech are established. Liberal arts and business ad- ministration receive emphasis, and, consequent- ly, men students exceed women students for the first time in Kent ' s history in the fall of 1939. Roosevelt stimulates recovery with the PWA. Mc- Gilvrey hall is built under the program in 1940. Jf ■■ « ■ - 16

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The first fraternity at Kent State Normal is Kappa Mu Kappa which organizes in 1922. Depression! Hard times are here; no new construction after all. Nevertheless, Kent con- tinues to grow. No job? Go to school. Kent State ' s fee schedules are the lowest in the state. Its enrollment soars, 832, 1375, 1538, 2008! In 1931 an addition is made to the Administration building and a Liberal Arts college comes into being. What next? Well — haven ' t you heard? The State welfare section wants to turn Kent State into a mental hospital! They say too many teachers, not enough hospital beds. How- ever, no need for excitement; a strong fighting Depression. Jobless sit on legislature steps. In Kent, enrollments rise. James Ozro Engleman President, 1928-1938 David Allen Anderson President, 1926-1928 Karl Clayton Leebrick President, 1938-1943 15

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Fearl Harbor changes the plans of many Kent students. Enrollment decreases to some 600 women plus a handful of males. President Emeritus John E. McGilvrey by this time has returned to spearhead a vigorous campaign for federal aid for campus improve- ments. With his help, the school is granted over $500,000 from the Public Works Administration, to be used principally for the construction of a new science building (later McGilvrey hall) in 1940. Then comes Pearl Harbor and expansion plans once again are set aside. M