The upper study area of the Paul Blair Memorial Library is now known as the Lang Learning Loft, recognizing the Rachel Boyce Lang Charitable Trust and its financial contribution to the Kent State East Liverpool Campus.
The repurposed space is now equipped with technology and furnishings that allow students to study in groups or to prepare group presentations, as well as areas that are designed for individual study and tutoring.
“Technology has changed the way students are taught and how they learn. Their study is more electronic and it is more social,” noted Dr. Susan Rossi, assistant dean of the East Liverpool Campus. “The days when students had to find a lonely chair in an isolated spot, where one could hear a pin drop on campus, are gone. Students today demand more to be successful.
“They need access to technology. They need access to group study. They need access to vast amounts of scholarly materials on all sorts of media,” she continued. “They want some quiet, but with the ability to have a conversation and debate with their fellow students. And it doesn’t hurt to have all this in the heart of an academic building.”
Present for the unveiling of the plaque designating the area as the Lang Learning Loft were siblings Charles (Charlie) and Mary Sue Lang. They, along with their brother James, are trustees for the Rachel Boyce Lang Charitable Trust, which was established following the passing of their mother.
“Our mother would be quite pleased to know that these funds are helping provide a place for students to learn right here in our hometown.,” remarked Mary Sue Lang. “We are so happy to be able to continue our support of Kent State.”
Rachel Boyce Lang was an active community member and served numerous organizations. She served in a variety of capacities at First United Methodist Church; was involved in the Junior Women’s club, serving as president; was chair of the East Liverpool School of Nursing advisory board; was a member of the East Liverpool City Hospital Auxiliary; and was a member of the East Liverpool Chapter of the Salvation Army.
Perhaps most notable, Rachel Boyce Lang was one of the first female graduates of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, now Carnegie Mellon University. She graduated in 1933.
Charlie and Mary Sue Lang, like their mother, are each active in the East Liverpool community. Charlie currently serves on the advisory board for Kent State East Liverpool, while Mary Sue is a past member. He also serves on the Rural Scholars advisory board. Both played key roles in the acquisition and capital campaign for the Mary Patterson Building, contributing time and funds to the successful completion of that project.
Also offering thanks to the Lang family was Dr. David Dees, interim dean of the Columbiana County Campuses, along with Susan Weaver, retired library director who helped design the loft area.
“I love how connected all of this is and how it all fits together for our students. Rachel Lang was an educational trailblazer and it is so neat to see how her past is impacting the future of so many,” Dees commented. “What a wonderful legacy of learning from the Lang family.”
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Headline Photo: (From left) Charles Lang, Mary Sue Lang and Dr. David Dees.