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

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DEDICATION It was our idea to dedicate the 1940 Chestnut Burr to a man who has contributed much to the successful growth of Kent State University. We felt that this book should be offered to someone instrumental in the rise of this institution, and to one in whose mind the welfare of the university has always held an important place. Such a man is John Edward McGilvrey, A.B., Ph.D., and president emeritus of Kent State University. Arriving in Kent from the Cleveland City Normal School in 1911, Dr. McGilvrey was president until 1926. During those years, he watched and helped the campus grow from what was then almost a wilderness to the site of the progressive university of today. He managed and lent weight

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•■. Presenting the Chestnut Burr for 1940 . . . In this book, the record of the 1939-40 academic year, the staff of the Chestnut Burr has earnestly endeavored to bring to you an accurate picture of a growing university. Since our campus is in a stage of evolu- tion, we have compiled the pages which follow with a predominant theme of Construction. On this motif of Construction, then, the Burr intends through its pages to construct a class, a student body, a faculty, and a univer- sity. We of the staff hope that you will find your Burr the truest and most sincere recol- lection possible of the months just passed. We give you the Chestnut Burr for 1940

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to all of the appropriation campaigns for building on the campus, including the new science hall which bears his name. In 1935 Dr. McGilvrey promoted the bill which changed Kent State College into Kent State University . With cameras clicking and with members of the faculty and several hundred students looking on, Dr. McGilvrey on December 22, 1938, broke first ground for the beginning of construction work on the science hall. Actual proceedings on the million-dollar structure began four months later, on April 4, 1939; the new building is expected to be ready for occupation in time to accommodate fall classes this year. Its four floors will have 47 rooms, including lecture rooms and libraries. These, then, are the facts which cause us of the Burr staff to feel justified in dedicating this book to the first president of Kent State University. The university has honored Dr. McGilvrey by naming him president emeritus and by giving his name to the new science hall. We of the Burr staff add to these honors with the dedication of this book. The 1940 Chestnut Burr salutes Dr. Edward McGilvrey.