The book “KU 150” by Monroe Dodd came out in early 2015.

As Kansas University celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, two new books on the shelves chronicle the storied and often fascinating history of the state’s flagship university.

For the casual reader, “KU 150,” by Monroe Dodd (Kansas City Star Books), is a coffee table book full of historic photos and vignettes that trace KU’s roots back to the days before statehood, when early planning for the school got underway, and that first semester in 1866.

A more analytical look can be found in the newer book on the shelf, “Transforming the University of Kansas: A History, 1965-2015,” (University Press of Kansas) which examines that turbulent period from several angles, including the university’s rise as a major research institution, the role that student activism and protests have played in its governance, and the often difficult political relationship KU has had with various governors and the Kansas Legislature.

“Transforming the University of Kansas” follows in the footsteps of Clifford S. Griffin’s 1975 book, “The University of Kansas: A History,” which chronicled KU’s first 100 years. Eight different faculty members from a variety of disciplines contributed chapters to the new book, which was co-edited by education and courtesy history professor John Rury and associate history professor Kim Cary Warren.

Transforming

“It was a time of upheaval,” Rury said of the early part of that era. “There were protests and sit-ins in Strong Hall regarding student rights. There were anti-war protests. We had the February Sisters that came along later in 1972 and took over the East Asian Studies building to demand day care and a number of other things.”

A chapter by American Studies professor emeritus Bill Tuttle describes how student activism has continued to be a major part of KU’s history, from the civil rights and Vietnam War era of the 1960s and 1970s, through the anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s and 1980s, to today’s activism focusing on sexual assault and the safety of women on campus.

Out of that activism, Rury said, grew a tradition of students taking an active and leading role in university governance.

It was also during that time that KU rose in the ranks of major research universities in the U.S., an achievement that Rury attributed largely to the work of the late former Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who died in July.

The lighter look at the university found in Dodd’s “KU 150” includes a wealth of historic photos and vignettes describing campus life and major events from the earliest days of the university to the present.

The book “KU 150” by Monroe Dodd came out in early 2015.

Dodd, a KU graduate, said there have been many academic books about KU’s history, and many more about its sports legends, but there were few “popular histories” aimed at readers who just want to learn more about the school in an entertaining way.

He said one of his favorite pictures is of Massachusetts Street in the 1860s, when the school was just being built.

“It looks like a town that’s not quite ready for a big-time college. There were cows and horses in the streets,” he said.

But perhaps the most memorable, he said, is a 1970 photo of former Chancellor Larry Chalmers, taken at Memorial Stadium in the aftermath of an anti-war riot on campus that left the Kansas Union in ashes. The photo was taken after a mass assembly a few days later where students had just opted by voice vote to effectively end the semester early and spend the final weeks in “alternative” classes focusing on the Vietnam War, civil rights and student activism.

“That picture pretty much sums up Larry Chalmers’ day,” Dodd said. “Chalmers came under fire from a lot of sides. Students and the county leftists thought he didn’t go far enough; conservatives in state government thought he was too permissive. And he was just caught in the middle.”

“KU 150” is available at the KU Bookstore, in public libraries and through Barnes and Noble’s online catalog.