Changes at the Top

By the early 1960s, both Plymouth and Keene joined a national trend for teachers colleges to become state schools. Keene Teachers College became Keene State College in 1963, acknowledging its status as a public liberal arts college.

President Lloyd Young left in 1964, and Roman "Jay" Zorn took his place as KTC became KSC. Zorn was successful at attracting a more highly educated faculty, with a desire to create a "Little Ivy" in a state system, but he did butt heads with the faculty, too, and he stayed at Keene State only five years. Leo Redfern replaced Zorn in 1969.

President Lloyd P. Young (1930-1964)

President Roman "Jay" Zorn (1964-1969)

Student Life: questioning, activist, casual
(and all those men!)
Student life was changing, too. If the first few years of the decade seemed tacked on to the 1950s, the second half of the 1960s earned its reputation as an age of activism and social unrest.

During Zorn's tenure, the traditionally female-dominated student body equalized to almost 50-50. The College expanded rapidly: Eight new professors were hired in 1964 to teach that large incoming class. The same year, the College Senate was formed with three student representatives. In 1968, a constitution was created, and in 1969 the Senate expanded from 15 to 45 members with 15 student representatives.

By the end of the decade, there was an inclination at many colleges, including Keene State, to equate college administrations with government administrations, and to tie protests of the war in Vietnam to protests of college policies. Student activists won some major victories on campus, including representation on the College Senate, curriculum changes, and liberalization of dorm rules.

Convocation on the Wiseman Case, 1969
Zorn's conflict with one faculty member, John Wiseman, began as a disagreement over salary and evolved into major student demonstrations on behalf of Wiseman, whose contract was not renewed for a third year. The Board of Trustees eventually supported the administration's decision, but a Faculty Evaluation Advisory Committee was created to advise the Dean on tenure/promotion decisions.

New Buildings – Everywhere You Look!
One visible sign of the changing times was construction. Faculty who remember President Zorn say he carried a measuring tape around with him at all times and would often be seen using it around campus. Morrison Hall was built in 1961, causing some consternation in town, because Monadnock had just been built in 1955, and the Butterfield addition and the old bookstore were only two years old. New family housing apartments were ready for occupancy in 1963. People in Keene were getting a little nervous at all that activity on campus.

The new library was also approved and built; although it was "finished" in 1965, with a new art gallery (a gift from beaTrix Thorne Sagendorph), three additions to the library were planned and added by 1976. The Zorn Dining Commons opened in 1966, winning the architectural design award of the N.H. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Randall Hall was also completed in 1966.

In 1968, three major new buildings were opened: the Science Center (complete with planetarium and rooftop greenhouse), the Adams Technology Building, and Spaulding Gymnasium. Carle Hall was completed in 1969, ending a decade of major expansion.