Nick Kovalchick, left, and Kyle Markle leave the classroom/administration building on Trumbull campus Wednesday afternoon. Kent’s Trumbull campus is celebrating its 50 year anniversary.

Credit: Andrew popik

It started in 1954 as a cadet program by the university to help offset the demand for elementary school teachers. The Warren Academic Center, as it was called, was set up in Warren G. Harding High School in Northeast Ohio.

By 1965, the program had grown to include more courses than those required by future educators. That same year, legislators granted campus status to the Warren Academic Center, and the Trumbull Campus was born.

Trumbull County Commissioners offered a 134.7 acre site to Kent State to support the new campus. Building plans began, and in the fall of 1970, classes at Kent State Trumbull were offered for the first time.

Tomorrow, Trumbull will celebrate its 50 years as a regional campus with a reception, speeches and a proclamation by Gov. Bob Taft.

The reception is by invitation only, and the committee invited a number of community members to be guests.

“This celebration is a big deal,” said Jan O’Donnell, administrative secretary to the interim dean of Kent State Trumbull. “There are so many people who have been involved with this campus.”

Chris Cooney, receptionist at the Trumbull campus, said the committee also invited faculty, staff, professors emeritus and former deans to the reception.

Susan Emens, anniversary committee member and assistant professor of business management technology at Trumbull, said President Carol Cartwright and Provost Paul Gaston will also be attending the event.

Although the campus was 50 years old in 2004, the anniversary committee decided to wait until 2005 to celebrate.

“Technically, our anniversary was last year,” said Robert Sines, interim dean at the Trumbull campus. “But this (2005) is the 50th academic year. We wanted to run the celebration through the whole year, with the culmination tomorrow.”

Included in the schedule for the reception is a “knowledge tree,” from which interested people can buy a leaf with their names on it to commemorate the anniversary.

Contact regional campuses reporter Erin Hopkins at [email protected].