During the late 1960s and early 1970s, unrest was common on U.S. campuses and OSU was no exception. Administrative actions involving free speech on campus and the War in Vietnam were among the targets of the protests.

Eventually, President Robert Kamm responded with a program of  "participative governance" to provide more input from students, faculty and staff in campus decision making. He’s pictured with staff and students announcing the implementation of the program at a time when older rules guiding student conduct were being updated.   

While the program had its detractors, it helped illustrate that Kamm saw education as a people enterprise, a concept he emphasized to students as they positioned themselves to play a more active role in the success of their university.