May 4 Visitors Center In the Fall of 2012, Kent State University will open its permanent educational exhibit for all to learn about May 4, 1970. This museum-style exhibit, housed in the new May 4 Visitors Center, resides within Taylor Hall. Taylor Hall is situated in center of the May 4 site, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. In his review of the nomination, historian for the National Park Service Patrick Andrus observed that for the site to be conferred National Register status before the usual passage of 50 years shows the exceptional importance of the event in U.S. history.

Consider partnering with Kent State University by endowing a student internship for the May 4 Visitors Center. Student interns provide informed assistance to visitors from eight years old through eighty-eight. As interns, students gain experiential learning and practice a variety of skills valuable to them after they complete their college education. Through in-depth learning about the history of May 4, students discover the importance of looking at a complex issue from a variety of perspectives. They study the best documented facts of the event and at the same time understand that this is a story still in the making. They learn to reason through the myths surrounding the story of what happened and guide visitors through an exhibit that presents information that invites drawing one's own conclusions. Through their work in the Visitors Center, they bring to life the theme of the exhibit: "Young people can make a difference."

May 4 Visitors Center Student interns gain skills that will serve them well in their professional lives. They practice dealing with the public and speaking to small groups. They assess the nature of visitors' questions and the nature of the audience and make decisions about the best and most age-appropriate information to provide each visitor who has questions. They offer suggestions to visitors who want additional information about the many topics in the Visitors Center exhibit and direct visitors to other May 4 resources.

Additional May 4 resources include the outdoor component of the May 4 Visitors Center exhibit: the May 4 Walking Tour. Student interns will be adept at guiding visitors in experiencing the three features of the outdoor exhibit: the historical map brochure, the seven interpretive trail markers, and the video documentary in seven chapters that are keyed to the seven markers.

Your gift of $25,000 establishes an enduring May 4 Visitors Center student internship that provides valuable experiential learning to a Kent State student and serves the greater campus and public communities. Your endowment provides a stipend to student for a full semester. Students awarded internships will be able to reapply for an internship position.

You may choose to name your internship after one of the four students who lost their lives on May 4: Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder. Internships are in place for Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder. Others can be accepted in their names as well as for Allison and Jeff. You also may choose to name your internship in other ways. Your gift will be recognized on the donor wall inside the entrance of the May 4 Visitors Center.

Your donation is welcome. Please send your donation by check to:
Diane M. Ruppelt
Institutional Advancement
P. O. Box 5190
Kent, OH 44242-0001
Office: 330-672-0456
Fax: 330-672-3327
druppelt@kent.edu