Murray State University
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| Murray State University | |
|---|---|
| Image:MurrayStateShield.png | |
| Motto: | Kentucky's Public Ivy University |
| Established | 1922 |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | $14.8 million |
| President: | Randy Dunn |
| Provost: | Gary Brockway |
| Faculty: | 396 |
| Students: | 10,304 (Fall 2006) |
| Undergraduates: | 8,607 (Fall 2006) |
| Postgraduates: | 1,697 (Fall 2006) |
| Location | Murray, KY, USA |
| Campus: | 260.64 acres (main campus) |
| Living Alumni: | 56,402 |
| Colors: | Navy Blue █ and Gold █ |
| Nickname: | "Racers" (except baseball: "Thoroughbreds" or "'Breds") |
| Mascot: | Dunker |
| Athletics: | 17 varsity teams |
| Affiliations: | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Website: | www.murraystate.edu |
Murray State University, located in the town of Murray in Kentucky's far-western Jackson Purchase in the United States, is an approximately 10,000-student, four-year public university. Having recently adopted the moniker "Kentucky's Public Ivy University," the school has striven to maintain a strong academic reputation and has been rewarded with high marks when compared with other regional public universities in U.S. News & World Report and other college ranking publications. In addition to the main campus, Murray State University operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, and Henderson.
Contents |
[edit] History
The history of Murray State University can be traced to the passage of Senate Bill 14 by the General Assembly, which would create two normal schools to address the growing demand for professional teachers. One of these schools would be in the western part of the state, which caused many cities and towns to bid for the new normal school. Rainey T. Wells spoke on behalf of the city of Murray to convince the Normal School Commission to choose his city. On September 2, 1922, Murray was chosen as the site of the new western normal school, and Morehead was chosen as the site for the eastern normal school. On November 26, 1922, John Wesley Carr was elected as the first president of the Murray State Normal School by the State Board of Education. At the same time, the Normal School Commission, under the belief that it had the right to elect the first president, elected Rainey T. Wells. May 15, 1923, The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the decision made by the State Board of Education, and Carr would be the first president.
Opening day for Murray State Normal School was September 23, 1923. Until the first building was completed, now Wrather Hall, the Normal School held classes on the first floor of Murray High School. All students commuted to classes until the first dormitory was constructed in 1925 as Wells Hall. Wilson Hall was also completed under Carr's presidency, and other structures were in progress. In 1926, Rainey T. Wells, recognized as the founder of Murray State, also became the second president. Wells served as president from 1926 to 1932, and during this time Lovett Auditorium, Carr Health Building, and Pogue library were all completed. In 1926, the Normal School was also renamed to Murray State Normal School and Teachers College when the General Assembly granted the institution authority to confer baccalaureate degrees. In 1928, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and in 1930 the name was changed to Murray State Teachers College when the school was granted authority to offer liberal arts and preprofessional courses. The name was changed again in 1948 to Murray State College, and then in 1966 the General Assembly authorized the Board of Regents to change the name to Murray State University.
[edit] The Shield
The Shield is the official seal of the University. It is taken from the heraldic coat-of-arms of the family of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and Lord Chief Justice of Great Britain in 1756. William Murray is an ancestor of the Murray family from whom the city and the University take their names. The shield is blue with a double gold border, and the three stars represent hope, endeavor, and achievement.
[edit] Alma Mater
The Alma Mater of Murray State University is sung to the tune of Annie Lisle and has two verses. Words were written by A.B. Austin, Dean of Men, in 1935. The Alma Mater is traditionally sung at student orientation, convocation and commencement ceremonies, athletic events, and other special events on campus.
[edit] Presidents of the University
- Dr. John W. Carr, 1923-1926
- Dr. Rainey T. Wells, 1926-32
- Dr. John W. Carr, 1933-1936
- Dr. James H. Richmond, 1936-1945
- Dr. Ralph H. Woods, 1945-1968
- Dr. Harry M. Sparks, 1968-1973
- Dr. Constantine W. Curris, 1973-1983
- Dr. Kala M. Stroup, 1983-1990
- Dr. Ronald J. Kurth, 1990-1994
- Dr. Samuel Kern Alexander, 1994-2001
- Dr. Fieldon King Alexander, 2001-2006
- Dr. Samuel Kern Alexander, 2006
- Dr. Tim Miller, 2006(interim president)
- Dr. Randy J. Dunn, 2006-Present
[edit] Campus
An aggressive building campaign on campus has resulted in the construction of the Regional Special Events Center, known as the RSEC (home to its men's and women's basketball teams), a new science building, a special education building, a Student Life & Wellness Center, and a complete overhaul of its main dining facility, Winslow Cafeteria. Its most recent president was F. King Alexander, son of its previous president, Kern Alexander. President Alexander left Murray State at the end of 2005 to accept a position as president of Long Beach State. Kern Alexander took the position of interim president until a new permanent president was found.
Currently, a building campaign has begun to replace many of the aging residential colleges. A replacement building for Clark College was completed and ready for residents at the beginning of the 2007 Fall semester. This made Clark College the newest building, and the only residence hall specifically designed around the residential college concept and model. New high-rise residence halls are planned for the near future, and will probably mean consolidation of some of the existing residential colleges that currently occupy the old low-rise buildings.
[edit] Kentucky's Public Ivy
Murray State's self-adopted moniker "Kentucky's Public Ivy" has not come without criticism. The term Public Ivy is generally used to describe state-funded institutions of higher learning that excel on a national level and successfully compete with the Ivy League schools in academic rigor. Such institutions have been discussed by name in several books, and Murray State was not named in those publications. Murray State uses the term to emphasize its ambition to maintain a strong academic reputation and high marks when compared with other regional public universities, as well as its emulation of some of the institutional features of certain Ivy League schools, including a residential college system (discussed below).
[edit] Academics
Murray State University offers 11 associate, 64 bachelor's, and 42 master's and specialist programs, which are administered through five academic colleges, one school, 30 departments, and one joint program shared by the College of Business and Public Affairs together with the Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology. The College of Business and Public Affairs is the largest college, enrolling 23% of undergraduate students.
Murray State University offers a wide range of majors, minors, and areas of study, many of which are not commonly found at Colleges and Universities similar to MSU in size. These include:
| Program | Type | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational Safety and Health | Area of Study | Includes courses in Hazardous Materials Site Operations as well as Emergency Medical Training. |
| Telecommunications Systems Management | Area of Study | |
| Organizational Communications | Major | |
| Communication Disorders | Major | |
| Equine Science | Major | |
| Pre-Veterinary | Major (typically Biology) | Pre-Professional Program |
| Geographic Information Science | Degree Option | Classes typically held in the Mid America Remote Sensing Center, located on-campus on the 3rd floor of the Lowry Center |
| Gerontology | Minor | Typically associated with a major in Social Work |
[edit] Campus life
[edit] Residential colleges
Murray State was the first public university in the nation to adopt a successful campus-wide residential college program [1]. The residential college structure, which took form on the campus in 1996, is based on similar, but much more established, programs at Oxford and Cambridge as well as Yale and Harvard. Although the physical structures of Murray State's residential colleges do not compare to those of the elite institutions, the basic residential college concept was effectively implemented. All faculty, staff, and students, even those who live off-campus, are assigned to one of the eight residential colleges. Once assigned to a residential college, a person remains a member of that college throughout their time at the University, developing friendships, traditions and lasting bonds that are meant to endure years after leaving Murray State. One of the goals in establishing the program was to improve student life and retention and graduation rates.
The eight colleges of Murray State
- Clark College, named for Lee Clark, who assisted Rainey T. Wells in founding the University. Clark later served as the superintendent of grounds and buildings.
- Elizabeth College, named for Elizabeth Harkless Woods, wife of fourth Murray State President Ralph H. Woods.
- Hart College, named for George Hart, a Board of Regents member and former mayor of Murray.
- Hester College, named for Cleo Gillis Hester, who served Murray State University from 1927 to 1960, as registrar.
- Regents College, named in honor of the outstanding citizens who have served on Murray State University’s Board of Regents. Regents Hall was completed in 1970 making it the youngest of the residence halls currently in use.
- Richmond College, named for the third president of the University, James H. Richmond.
- Springer-Franklin College, named for O.B. Springer, member of the Board of Regents from 1950-58 and 1960-70, and Hollis C. Franklin, who served on the Board from 1947-56.
- White College, named for R.H. "Bob" White, a Board of Regents member.
[edit] Student Government Association
The Student Government Association, commonly known as SGA, is the officially organized body governing all students and student organizations at Murray State University. The purposes of the Student Government Association are to promote the welfare, growth, and development of student life in an environment of academic excellence, to represent the students in all phases of administrative effort, and to provide a means of promoting cooperative efforts for the general welfare of the University community. SGA is made up four branches: Senate, Campus Activities Board, Judicial Board, and the Residential College Association. The Senate is the main branch of SGA, and it is the governing body with the power to pass resolutions, bills, rules, and regulations necessary for the general welfare of the University and to implement and maintain any programs consistent with SGA purposes. Although Murray State has a fairly low percentage of students involved with Greek life, those students have traditionally maintained control of the Student Government Association. The president of SGA holds a student seat on the Board of Regents.
[edit] Greek life
Murray State is home to active chapters of several social Greek organizations. The oldest fraternities on campus are Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Sigma Alpha Iota (both relating to music).
North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) chapters
- Pi Kappa Alpha 1958
- Sigma Chi 1959
- Tau Kappa Epsilon 1959 (colony)
- Alpha Tau Omega 1959
- Alpha Gamma Rho 1968
- Lambda Chi Alpha 1968
- Sigma Pi 1968
- Kappa Alpha Order 1969 (rechartered 2005)
- Sigma Phi Epsilon 1969
- Sigma Nu 1969 (closed)
- Phi Kappa Tau 1982 (rechartered 2005)
- Sigma Tau Gamma 1992 (closed since 1999)
- Alpha Sigma Phi 1994
- Delta Sigma Phi (closed)
Murray State also has a chapter of Kappa Sigma (chartered 2006), whose nationals are not a member of the NIC.
Panhellenic Conference sororities include
- Sigma Sigma Sigma 1942
- Alpha Sigma Alpha 1946
- Alpha Omicron Pi 1961
- Alpha Gamma Delta 1966
- Kappa Delta 1967 (closed since 1984)
- Alpha Delta Pi 1968
- Alpha Phi 1978 (closed since 1990)
National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)
- Alpha Kappa Alpha 1971
- Alpha Phi Alpha 1969
- Delta Sigma Theta
- Iota Phi Theta 2001
- Kappa Alpha Psi 1972
- Omega Psi Phi
- Phi Beta Sigma
- Zeta Phi Beta 2000
Murray State also has two local social sororities: Omega Xi (2002) and Delta Mu Pi (2005).
Murray State has an active chapter of the Christian social sorority Alpha Delta Chi (1991) as well.
[edit] Traditions and events
- Located in front of Pogue Library on the quad is a tree with many pairs of shoes nailed to the trunk. The tradition is that if a couple gets married after meeting at Murray State, then they return to the quad and each one nails a shoe to the "shoe tree." Many of the shoes include names and dates written on them. If said couple has a baby, the baby's shoes are then nailed to the tree. It should be noted that this tree (due to a high zinc content from the nails) is a common target of lightning, and has caught fire in the past.
- Campus Lights is the longest running student produced and performed musical in the South. The show started in 1938 by the Gamma Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha as a fund raiser to pay the chapter's chartering fees. All proceeds from the show are given to the Department of Music in order to fund scholarships.
[edit] Athletics
Murray State is particularly renowned for its men's basketball program, which has made 13 appearances in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2006. Its men's and women's athletic teams are known as the Racers, with the exception of the baseball team which is known as the Thoroughbreds. All of its athletic teams compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, whose conference roster includes nine other regional public universities and one private university.
Murray State also is home to one of the nation's top rifle programs. The Racers claimed national championships in 1978 (NRA), 1985 (NCAA) and 1987 (NCAA) and have produced six individual NCAA national champions, including two-time national titlist and 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist Pat Spurgin.
The football program has become a steppingstone to major-college coaching success. Frank Beamer, the current Virginia Tech head coach who built that program into a national power in the 1990s and early 2000s, and current Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt are both former Racers head coaches, as is current ESPN analyst Mike Gottfried, himself a former head coach at Cincinnati, Kansas, and Pittsburgh. Current Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen is a former Racers assistant under Beamer.
[edit] Publications
Its student newspaper, The Murray State News, has been awarded two Pacemaker awards in the last decade, the highest award given to collegiate newspapers; in addition, the school yearbook, The Shield, was awarded three Pacemaker awards and two CSPA Silver Crowns in the last ten years. The Newspaper also sporadicly includes an award winning comic named Professor Hobo.
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Arts and entertainment
- W. Earl Brown (BS '86), actor
- Jerry Crutchfield, music producer [2]
- Jude Deveraux, romance novelist
- Angie Gregory, 1999-2003, actress
- Tom Rickman, screenwriter
- Hal Riddle (BS '42), actor [3]
- Joe Staton (BS '70), comic book artist
- Chrishell Stause (BA '03) actress
- Chris Thile, musician, from the band Nickel Creek
- J.D. Wilkes (BA '96), musician, visual artist, filmmaker
[edit] Athletics
- Shane Andrus, formerly a placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts.
- Marcus Brown, National Basketball Association (NBA) player from 1996 to 1999.
- Tony Franklin, offensive coordinator of Auburn University football team.
- Joe Fulks, Basketball Hall of Famer and early pioneer of the jump shot (did not graduate; left to join the Marines during World War II).
- Ronald "Popeye" Jones, NBA player from 1993 to 2005.
- Bennie Purcell, basketball and Harlem Globetrotters player.
- Kirk Rueter, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Montreal Expos (1993-96) and San Francisco Giants (1996-2005).
- James Singleton, NBA player for the Los Angeles Clippers.
[edit] Business and industry
- W. Dwight Armstrong (BS '71), vice president of Provimi Holding Co. and chairman of North American Nutrition Companies, Inc. [4]
- Arthur J. Bauernfeind (BA '60), Chairman & CEO of Westfield Capital Management LLC[5][6][7][8]
- Rex Geveden ('83, MS '84), president of Teledyne Brown Engineering
- Dr. Gene W. Ray (BS '60), Former Chairman, President, & CEO of Titan Corporation, Current Chief Executive Officer of GMT Ventures LLC, in La Jolla, CA.[9][10]
- Kris Robbins ('81, MBA '83, ΛΧΑ), president and CEO of Security Benefit Corp. [11]
[edit] Government, law, and military
- Jerry Brown (BA '54), U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana [http://www.murraystate.edu/ialu/07DA.htm
- Rex Geveden (MS '84), former Associate Administrator of NASA
- Anna McHargue (BS '56, ΣΣΣ), the first female flight surgeon in USAF Reserves, former commander of the 349th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
- Don Tharpe ('74, '75, ΑΦΑ), president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, former executive director of the Association of School Business Officials International [12]
[edit] Journalism
- Ron Beaton (BA '80), retired news anchor.
- Mandy Murphy (ΣΣΣ), reporter and co-anchor at KTVI-TV Fox 2 News in St. Louis [13]
- Ji Il Park (BA '00), writer and CEO of NewsJapan
- Amy Watson (BA '89), news anchor [14]
[edit] Partner universities
Ohio Valley Conference |
|---|
| Austin Peay • Eastern Illinois • Eastern Kentucky • Jacksonville State • Morehead State • Murray State • Samford • Southeast Missouri • Tennessee State • Tennessee Tech • Tennessee–Martin |
