The Evolution of Emergency Planning at Kent State University, 1970–2020

Abstract

The shootings at Kent State on May 4, 1970, shocked people all over the world and were a disaster for the university. To resume operations and rebuild its reputation, Kent State University turned to emergency planning decades before it was standard practice in higher education. Scholars of emergency management assert that innovation in the field often arises in response to disasters (Rubin, 2020) and that examining its history offers valuable insights (Butler, 2020; Phillips et al. 2012). The Kent State shootings served as a focusing event (Rubin, 2020) that opened a policy window (Kingdon, 1995) within the institution. Drawing on archival documents and oral histories, this historical case study examines how Kent State created their emergency plan through the lens of Kingdon's multiple streams framework. It presents a rare glimpse of an early example of emergency planning in higher education. This paper situates Kent State's actions within the broader context of emergency planning in higher education, explains how its first plan was developed and what it contained, and concludes with a brief description of recent emergency planning at Kent State.