Robert I. White

Robert Isaac White Jr. (December 29, 1908 – October 10, 1990) was an American academic administrator. He was president of Kent State University from 1963 to 1971, overseeing a significant period of institutional growth. The Kent State shootings took place during his tenure.

Early life White was born on December 28, 1908, in Elgin, Illinois. His parents were Fanny (née Goodenow) and Robert I. White Sr., was the superientdnent of Elgin Public Schools and, later, the assistant superintendent of evening and summer schools in Chicago, Illinois. The family moved to Chicago when White was twelve years old. He studied history and political science. He was then a visiting associate professor at the University of Chicago. He was promoted to the university's first vice president for academic affairs in 1958. He also oversaw the construction of the university's twelve-story library. In response, White closed the university from May 4 to June 2, 1970. At the time, an Federal grand jury in Ohio blamed the shooting on "Kent's permissiveness", exonerating the National Guard and indicting 25 people with riot charges related to protests on campus.

Once the gag order was removed by the judge overseeign the hearings, White spoke against the grand jury's findings, noting that this was an assault on free academia thath "would eventually destroy not only Kent State but all major universities in America". However, the fledgling American Civil Liberties Union aand ACLU of Ohio eventually got the verdict appealed. In 1970, White himself said, "Too many people think that when the president says some thing, everybody jumps. Well, it's just not that way in a university.

White died at Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, Ohio, on October 10, 1990, at the age of 81.