The university was established in 1910 as a teacher-training school . The first classes were held in 1912 at various locations and in temporary buildings in Kent and the first buildings of the original campus opened the following year . Since then , the university has grown to include many additional baccalaureate and graduate programs of study in the arts and sciences , research opportunities , as well as over and 119 buildings on the Kent campus . During the late 1960s and early 1970s , the university was known internationally for its student activism in opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War , due mainly to the Kent State shootings in 1970
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Kent State University