Sun Nov 08 2009
By Colin McEwen
Record-Courier staff writer
The College of Library Sciences at Kent State University got a boost with a nearly $1 million donation in honor of longtime KSU supporters Gerald and Victoria Read.
At a special dedication ceremony Friday on the 10th floor of the KSU Library, more than 50 friends, family and colleagues attended the grand opening of the Gerald H. and Victoria C.T. Read Special Collections Classroom and Processing Center.
KSU President Lestor Lefton said it was the Reads' passion for education and global, forward-thinking that made the library an appropriate place for the new classroom.
"The library is the center of the university, both physically and intellectually," he said. "Gerald and Victoria Read made a profound impact on the university they loved. If I've every heard of excellence in action, this is it."
Before he died in 2005, Gerald Read was known worldwide as a co-founder of the Comparative International Education Society and its prestigious journal, Comparative Education Review.
He taught in the school's College of Education for more than 30 years before retiring in 1976.
In attendance at the dedication was Victoria Anne (Read) Thornbury and her husband Carlton Thornbury; and Roger and Judy Read. It was the Reads' own children who made the gift to the library possible.
Mark Weber, KSU dean of libraries and media services, introduced the speakers.
Cara Gilgenbach, KSU head of special collections and archives, said the this gift is one of the most significant ever received by the special collections department.
"It's really a dream for us," she said. "This is important to us because we've had a space crisis for years. With the Read Classroom, we know we'll have a spacious technologically equipped facility."
In addition to the classroom, the gift is also earmarked to fund student assistantships, staffing and the acquisition of new materials.
Graduate assistant Robin Katz expressed her gratitude for the gift to the library; and Ohio Rep. Kathleen Chandler presented a proclamation to the families on behalf of the Ohio House of Representatives.
Victoria Anne Thornbury got her start in the school of library science, and said this was a way to give back.
"My parents relationship with Kent State University spans 70 years," she said, noting that after retirement the couple moved to North Carolina. "In their hearts, they remained at Kent State. Our desire for this funding was to honor my parents. Their generosity opened so many doors for so many people."
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