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

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Prexy smiles as induction formalities end. Student volunteers guide delegates back to Bowman Hall. Solemnity shows awareness of future tasks. 16

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' We Accept The Obligation ' Freedom, selectivity, quality and cultural values are basic requirements of the modern state school, President Robert I. White told his inaugural audience. Created in American society as one of those guaran- tees of social mobility without which a democracy cannot exist, the American state university is novel to the world, he said. The service, the hopes, the fate of the world commonwealth are its domain. Universities must recognize their limits, he said. Nothing should be attempted unless it can be done ex- cellently and without harm to ongoing good programs. Standardization, centralization and outside harrassment will destroy the effectiveness of the faculty. The growing proportion of young people enrolling makes quality a necessity. Society ' s stake is too great to allow anything else, he emphasized. Changing enrollments, accelerated programs of grad- uate study and research and the need for training for public and professional services are challenges and res- ponsibilities to be met in the future, Dr. White noted. The needs for these are obvious indeed, and their campus influence is quite pervasive and powerful. No longer youthful but mature and not bound by outdated restrictions, we move forward from a position of strength provided by the many who have preceded us, he said. With thoroughness, with study, with a dedica- tion to excellence, we will accept the obligation of being a state university in modern America.

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Professor Emeritus Mona Fletcher gives congratulations. llBBBIM MI T M I- 1 ' I « ■ - — JB5M 1 ' ' m ... A Wip2M Kl Mlv ' Ljfl] J r Jji Bl ' 2» K ' ■ Luncheon guests hear speakers via closed-circuit TV. Delegates Attend Luncheon Luncheon for 600, an informal reception for 900 well-wishers and a formal evening reception in Eastway Center completed inauguration day activities. Special inaugural guests included University of Chicago President George Wells Beadle, 1958 Nobel Prize winner in physiology and medicine; Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Kingsley A. Taft; and NASA research engineer Robert K. Skoog. Delegates from Harvard University and Cuyahoga County Community College repre- sented the nation ' s oldest and youngest institu- tions of higher learning respectively. Present were three generations of the White family: Robert I. White, Sr., retired Chicago deputy superintendent of schools; the new pres- ident himself; and Ronald White, graduate stu- dent at Iowa State University. A special gift for President White came a few days after the convocation. A 25-foot scroll bear- ing 4000 signatures brought the best wishes of stu- dents in Kent ' s 1 1 academic centers. First Lady and Dr. Harrington chat before dessert.