May 4
Protector of History: Alan Canfora Collection to be Dedicated at Kent State University Libraries
The largest private collection of documents and materials relating to the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State University, amassed by survivor Alan Canfora, will be formally dedicated by University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives on May
MEDIA ADVISORY: Kent State Remembers May 4, 1970, With 56th Commemoration
Kent State University will hold its annual commemoration to honor the memory of May 4, 1970 – a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on Kent State students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students and wounding nine others. May 4, 1970, marked a pivotal moment in American history.
‘Perseverance Is Going to Have to Be Part of the Process’
Laura Davis, Ph.D., co-founder and first director of Kent State University’s May 4 Visitors Center, was recently named a Woman of the Year by the Summit County Historical Society. Davis was a first-year student at Kent State on May 4, 1970, and she shares her journey to becoming an activist and what people today can learn from America’s history of protest.
Where They Were on May 4, 1970
A future Kent State University president and a past Kent State administrator were serving at universities in Dayton and Texas on May 4, 1970, and had to find ways to manage student protests in reaction to the shootings.
Historian Who Recorded Guardsmen’s Voices to Speak at Kent State’s 2026 Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series
David Strittmatter, associate professor of history at Ohio Northern University, has been selected as the 2026 speaker for the fifth annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series. He will share firsthand oral histories from Ohio National Guardsmen who were present during the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State University.
Kent State Remembers May 4, 1970, With 56th Commemoration
This year’s May 4 Commemoration, to be held May 1-4, 2026, will include special remembrances of John Cleary, one of the nine wounded students, and Jerry M. Lewis, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology, who served as a faculty marshal during the campus shootings and worked tirelessly to ensure that the legacy of May 4 would endure.
IN A FLASH: Remembering Jesse Jackson at Kent State
Kent State University honors the memory of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and remembers his visits to our campuses over the years.
Jerry M. Lewis, Kent State Professor Emeritus and Tireless May 4 Advocate, Dies at 88
Jerry M. Lewis, Ph.D., Kent State University Professor Emeritus of Sociology, who served as a faculty marshal during the May 4, 1970, campus shootings and later worked tirelessly to ensure that the legacy of May 4 would endure, died Wednesday, Feb. 11, at his home in Maine. He was 88.
IN A FLASH: Digging In To Honor Veterans
Snowy weather and cold temperatures didn't stop volunteers from taking part in the annual Veterans Day tradition of bulb-planting on Daffodil Hill.
Remembering John Cleary
A Kent State University student whose darkest day was seen around the world on the cover of Life magazine has died. John Cleary, 74, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, passed away Oct. 25 at his home surrounded by his loving family.