Editing Kent State University (section)

===1940s to 1960s===
[[File:Kuumba House - Black United Students 1st Black Culture Center 1969.jpg|thumb|Kuumba House in 1969]]
From 1944 to 1963, the university was led by President George Bowman. During his tenure, the student senate, faculty senate and graduate council were organized. Although it had served Stark County from the 1920s, in 1946, the university's first regional campus, the [[Kent State University Stark Campus|Stark Campus]], was established in [[Canton, Ohio]]. In the fall of 1947, Bowman appointed [[Oscar W. Ritchie]] as a full-time faculty member. Ritchie's appointment to the faculty made him the first [[African American]] to serve on the faculty at Kent State and also made him the first African American professor to serve on the faculty of any state university in Ohio. In 1977, the former Student Union, which had been built in 1949, was rededicated as Oscar Ritchie Hall in his honor.<ref>{{cite news|first= Curtis T.|last= Clingman|title= Dr. Oscar W. Ritchie|url= http://hierographics.org/owritchiebio.htm|newspaper= Spectrum|publisher= HieroGraphics Online|date= September 17, 1979|edition= 1998 Revision|access-date= September 23, 2009|archive-date= January 9, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090109212637/http://hierographics.org/owritchiebio.htm|url-status= live}}</ref> Recently renovated, Oscar Ritchie Hall currently houses the department of [[Pan-African Studies]] the Center of Pan-African Culture, the Henry Dumas Library, the Institute for African American Affairs, the Garrett Morgan Computer Lab and the African Community Theatre.<ref>{{cite news|first= Melissa|last= Elder|title= Renovations for Oscar Ritchie on Track|url= http://einside.kent.edu/?type=art&id=86728|newspaper= eInside|publisher= Kent State University|date= February 11, 2008|access-date= September 23, 2009|archive-date= July 5, 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100705101148/http://einside.kent.edu/?type=art&id=86728|url-status= live}}</ref>

The 1950s and 1960s saw continued growth in both enrollment and in the physical size of the campus. Several new dorms and academic buildings were built during this time, including the establishment of additional regional campuses in [[Warren, Ohio|Warren]] (1954), [[Kent State University Ashtabula Campus|Ashtabula]] (1957), [[New Philadelphia, Ohio|New Philadelphia]] (1962), [[Salem, Ohio|Salem]] (1962), [[Burton, Ohio|Burton]] (1964), and [[Kent State University East Liverpool Campus|East Liverpool]], [[Ohio]] (1965).<ref>Hildebrand, Herrington, & Keller; pp. 267-270</ref> In 1961, grounds superintendent Larry Wooddell and Biff Staples of the [[Davey Tree Expert Company]] released ten cages of [[black squirrel]]s obtained from [[Victoria Park, London (Ontario)|Victoria Park]] in [[London, Ontario]], Canada, onto the Kent State campus. By 1964 their estimated population was around 150 and today they have spread in and around Kent and have become unofficial mascots of both the city and university. Since 1981, the annual Black Squirrel Festival is held every fall on campus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.victoria-park.com/ksu.htm |title=London Black Squirrels Take Over Kent State University |access-date=September 23, 2009 |work=Victoria-Park.com |year=2002 |archive-date=May 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530144103/http://www.victoria-park.com/ksu.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Hildebrand, Herrington, & Keller; p. 258</ref>

In 1965, chemistry professor Glenn H. Brown established the [[Liquid Crystal Institute]],<ref name=KHS>{{cite book |title=Kent Ohio: The Dynamic Decades |editor=Darrow, Ralph |year=1999 |publisher=Kent Historical Society |location=Kent, OH |page=123}}</ref> a world leader in the research and development of the multibillion-dollar [[liquid crystal]] industry.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Johnson|first= Christopher |date= August 1, 2005|title= Liquid Crystal Institute blazes new trails at Kent State|journal= Inside Business|publisher=Great Lakes Publishing |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160029070.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121102024242/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-160029070.html|archive-date= November 2, 2012|access-date=September 23, 2009 |quote= ...the world's No. 1 liquid crystal research center is at Kent State University: the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI).}}</ref> [[James Fergason]] invented and patented the basic [[Twisted nematic field effect|TN LCD]] in 1969<ref>{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Christopher |date=May 10, 1999 |title=Liquid Lessons: The Missed Opportunity of Liquid Crystal Technology isn't Lost on Researchers Striving to Establish a MEMS Industry Here |journal=Crain's Cleveland Business |publisher=Crain Communications |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54607677.html |access-date=September 23, 2009 |quote= in the 1970s, soon after Kent State University researcher James Fergason first invented the basic liquid crystal.}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=James Fergason - Lemelson-MIT Program |url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/james-fergason |website=lemelson.mit.edu |access-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624040827/https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/james-fergason |url-status=live }}</ref> and ten liquid crystal companies have been spun off from the institute.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pettypiece |first=Shannon |date=August 29, 2005 |title=Crystal clear; Kent State playing lead role in exploring medical, anti-bioterror uses for liquid crystal technology. |journal=Crain's Cleveland Business |publisher=Crain Communications|url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135711290.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122160052/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135711290.html |archive-date=November 22, 2008 |access-date=September 23, 2009 |quote=Since that time, the university has spun off 10 companies developing liquid crystal technology.}}</ref>

In 1967, Kent State became the first university to run an independent, student-operated Campus Bus Service. It was unique in that it provided jobs for students, receiving funding from student fees rather than bus fares. Campus Bus Service was the largest such operation in the country until it merged with the [[Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kent State University Campus Bus Service: History 1965-2004 |url=http://www.partaonline.org/pdfs/CBShistory.pdf |year=2004 |work=PARTAonline.org |publisher=[[Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority|PARTA]] |access-date=September 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327091411/http://www.partaonline.org/pdfs/CBShistory.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009}}</ref> 1969 saw the opening of a [[Dix Stadium|new Memorial Stadium]] on the far eastern edge of campus and the closure and dismantling of the [[Memorial Stadium (Kent)|old Memorial Stadium]].