Lowry Bill

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The Lowry Bill, also known as the Lowry Act and the Lowry Normal School Bill, was a bill introduced in 1910 in the Ohio state legislature which called for the establishment of two state normal schools in northern Ohio, one in the northeast and one in the northwest. It was named after its main sponsor, John Hamilton Lowry, a representative from northwest Ohio's Henry County. It was approved and signed into law by Ohio Governor Judson Harmon on May 19, 1910. [1] Following its approval, the Commission on Normal School Sites was established and search committees were formed to determine the sites of the two schools with nearly forty communities applying. On November 25, 1910, the Commission announced that the villages of Kent in the northeast and Bowling Green in the northwest had been selected as the sites of the new schools. [2] These schools would eventually evolve into what are today Kent State University and Bowling Green State University. [2]

Lowry Hall at Kent State Lowry Hall 1.jpg
Lowry Hall at Kent State

Lowry Hall, one of the oldest buildings at Kent State University (built 1913), was named for John Hamilton Lowry. [3]

Purpose of the bill

Ohio did not have schools of education at its public universities until 1902 when they were established at Ohio University in Athens and Miami University in Oxford, followed by Ohio State University in Columbus in 1907. [2] All three schools were located in the southern half of the state while the majority of the growth, population, and need for teachers were in northern Ohio. The Lowry bill was the first successful action to establish teacher training schools in northern Ohio after several failed attempts. [2]

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Kent State University School ("KSUS") was a laboratory school located in Kent, Ohio, United States, on the campus of Kent State University. The school included grades K–12 and was divided into elementary, junior high/middle, and high school levels with the high school known as Kent State University High School or Kent State High School. Originally developed as a teacher training school, it later evolved into a selective laboratory school connected with the Kent State University College of Education. It was initially housed at Merrill Hall when it opened in 1913 before moving into Kent Hall in 1916. In 1926 it relocated to the William A. Cluff Teacher Training Building, now known as Franklin Hall. The school was moved to a new building at the corner of Morris Road and East Summit Street in 1956. This building is today known as the Michael Schwartz Center and houses several student services and administrative offices. The university closed the school in phases, starting with the high school portion in 1972. The junior high school was closed in 1978, and the elementary school closed in 1982.

The 1913–14 Kent State Normal School men's basketball team was the first men's basketball team at what is now Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, then known as Kent State Normal School. The school was established in 1910 by the Lowry Bill and the first classes were held on the new campus in 1913 after the completion of the first building, Merrill Hall. Classes had begun as early as 1912, held at locations around the region. The initial enrollment for the fall 1913 semester was 140 students, of which only five were men, though more students, including additional men, arrived in the coming weeks. The school's largely female enrollment, typical for a teacher training school, participated in a number of intramural sports.

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Rockwell Field was a multi-purpose athletic field on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. It was the first home venue for the Kent State Golden Flashes football and the first permanent home for the KSU baseball program. The field, sometimes referred to as "Normal Field", also hosted football games for the Kent State University School. Rockwell Field served as the home field for Kent State football from the team's inception in 1920 through the 1940 season, the baseball team from circa 1920 through the 1941 season, and the men's track team from their foundation in 1922 through the 1940 season. It was replaced by a new athletic complex that included a field for football with a track and an adjacent baseball field. The new football field and track, later to become Memorial Stadium by 1950, were ready for the 1941 football and 1942 track seasons, while the baseball field opened in 1942.

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References

  1. Kent State University Special Collections and Archives (2007-05-09). "Kent State University: General History". Kent State University Special Collections and Archives FAQ. Kent State University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hildebrand, William H.; Keller, Dean H.; Herington, Anita D. (1993). A Book of Memories: Kent State University 1910-1992. Kent, Ohio, USA: Kent State University Press. ISBN   0-87338-488-1.
  3. "Campus Building Information". Joseph F. Morbito Architecture Library. Kent State University. 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2008-05-14.