Murray State University

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Murray State University
Motto: Kentucky's Public Ivy University
Established: 1922
Type: Public
Endowment: $14.8 million
President: Randy Dunn
Provost: Gary Brockway
Faculty: 396
Students: 10,156 (Fall 2007)
Undergraduates: 8,361 (Fall 2007)
Postgraduates: 1,795 (Fall 2007)
Location: Murray, KY, USA
Campus: 258.43 acres (main campus)
Living Alumni: 57,949
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, Kentucky, is an approximately 10,000-student, four-year public university. Having 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] Presidents of the University

  1. Dr. John W. Carr, 1923-1926
  2. Dr. Rainey T. Wells, 1926-32
  3. Dr. John W. Carr, 1933-1936
  4. Dr. James H. Richmond, 1936-1945
  5. Dr. Ralph H. Woods, 1945-1968
  6. Dr. Harry M. Sparks, 1968-1973
  7. Dr. Constantine W. Curris, 1973-1983
  8. Dr. Kala M. Stroup, 1983-1990
  9. Dr. Ronald J. Kurth, 1990-1994
  10. Dr. Samuel Kern Alexander, 1994-2001
  11. Dr. Fieldon King Alexander, 2001-2006
  12. Dr. Samuel Kern Alexander, 2006
  13. Dr. Randy J. Dunn, 2006-Present

[edit] Campus

[edit] The Quad

Pogue Library and the quadrangle, featuring the statue of founder Rainey T. Wells.
Pogue Library and the quadrangle, featuring the statue of founder Rainey T. Wells.

The oldest and most easily recognizable buildings on the Murray State campus are situated around a large, grassy, tree-lined area on the south side of campus. This part of campus, known as the quadrangle, is bounded by 16th Street to the West, 15th Street to the East, Lovett Auditorium to the North, and Wilson Hall to the South. In the Southwest corner of the quad sits the oldest building on campus, Wrather Hall. Wrather Hall first housed administrative offices and classrooms, and it is now home to the Wrather West Kentucky Museum and a large auditorium that is frequently used for lectures and meetings. Faculty Hall, Wells Hall, and the College of Business line the western edge of the quad. The Lowry Center, Pogue Library, and the Price Doyle Fine Arts Center line the eastern side of the quad. The 11-story Doyle Fine Arts Center is the tallest building on campus, housing the Robert E. Johnson Theatre, Clara Eagle Art Gallery, WKMS-FM and MSU-TV 11 studios, as wells as numerous classrooms, practice rooms, and recital halls. Directly south of the quad is Sparks Hall. Sparks Hall is the main administrative building, housing the offices of student financial aid, admissions and registration, accounting and financial services, vice president for administrative services, center for continuing education and academic outreach, human resources, marketing and public relations, and school relations. The 6-story, 39,000 square foot, Sparks Hall was completed in 1967 at a cost of $1,308,514. Also to the south of the quad, and directly west of Sparks Hall is Oakhurst, which is the residence of the university president. Oakhurst was constructed in 1927, by Murray State's first president, Rainey T. Wells.

[edit] Central Campus

The central portion of the Murray State campus lines 15th Street between Chestnut Street and Olive Boulevard. This portion of 15th Street was originally open to automobile traffic, but it has since been closed and converted into a pedestrian thoroughfare. Along the west side of the 15th Street pedestrian pathway is the Martha Layne Collins Center for Industry and Technology, Blackburn Science Building, and Oakley Applied Science Building. To the east of the pedestrian pathway lies the Curris Center, Carr Health Building and Cutchin Fieldhouse, Waterfield Library, Ordway Hall, Woods Hall, and Mason Hall.

[edit] West Campus

Alexander Hall, named for former Murray State president Kern Alexander
Alexander Hall, named for former Murray State president Kern Alexander

An aggressive building campaign on campus has resulted in a westward expansion of the main academic campus of Murray State. The expansion began with a massive renovation and expansion of what is now known as Alexander Hall on the west side of 16th Street near Calloway Avenue. The project was the first to unveil a new architectural style that would become consistent through all renovation and new construction projects on campus. Alexander Hall is home to Murray State's Adolescent, Career and Special Education program. Construction continued with the new state-of-the-art science complex for biology, chemistry and engineering that is located just to the southwest of Alexander Hall. The massive new science complex was constructed in phases, with the biology building opening in 2004 and the rest of the complex and centerpiece clock tower reaching final completion in March 2008. The new clock tower was dedicated in 2007 as the Jesse L. Jones Family Clock Tower.

[edit] Sports and Recreation Facilities

Roy Stewart Stadium
Roy Stewart Stadium

The majority of the university's sports and recreation facilities are located on the northern most edge of the campus, along the KY-121 Bypass. The most prominent structure in the sports complex is Roy Stewart Stadium. The stadium, which is home field to the Murray State Racers football program, was completed in 1973 and named for former Murray State football coach Roy Stewart. It seats 16,800. The outdated AstroTurf surface was replaced with FieldTurf in 2007. Located on the second floor of the seven-story press box and seating structure is the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range, which is the home of the three-time NCAA champion rifle squad. The 8,602-seat Regional Special Events Center, commonly known as RSEC, was completed in 1998 to replace the aging Racer Arena that was no longer large enough to serve as an adequate home to the men's and women's basketball teams. On April 16, 2005, the new Susan E. Bauernfeind Student Recreation and Wellness Center was dedicated. The new 73,000 square-foot student recreation center includes a swimming pool, two racquetball courts, a walking/jogging track, an aerobic studio, basketball courts, and free weights and cardio workout machines. The center is located just north of the residential colleges, near Roy Stewart Stadium.

[edit] Residence Halls

Currently, a building campaign has begun to replace many of the aging residence halls. 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. A new residence hall is currently in planning stages. Planned for the area immediately west of Hester Hall, the new structure was replace the aging facility that is currently home to the Richmond Residential College.

[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 has been institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and School, Commission on Colleges, continuously since 1928. Murray State is one of only eight schools in the state of Kentucky to achieve AACSB accreditation of business programs;[1] however the school is not AACSB accredited in Accounting programs.[2] Several other programs have achieved specialized accreditation - primarily programs in teaching, fine arts, and nursing. As a former normal school and teachers college, Murray State is best known for its education programs, but the university has also gained national recognition for its fine arts programs. The Department of Music has been a member of the National Association of Schools of Music since 1936.[3]

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
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

Elizabeth Residential College
Elizabeth Residential College

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 University and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom as well as Yale University and Princeton University in the United States.

The Murray State model lacks several critical components of the classical residential college model, including dining halls and libraries at each college, sufficient common meeting areas for activities, group study, and academic training, and large courtyards or outdoor spaces for socializing and recreation. The Murray State model still forces students to share central dining areas and recreation areas, and the current buildings also lack significant common space that would be utilized for a variety of functions. This weakness causes the residential colleges to lose some of their sense of envisioned identity, and they remain to many as just dormitories that happen to each have a coat of arms. As the older structures are eventually phased out, the university is taking steps to design new residence halls with the residential college model in mind.

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 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, and measurable progress has been made in that endeavor.

The eight colleges of Murray State

  1. 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. The current Clark residence hall opened in August 2007 as the first new residence hall built on campus since 1970. The new Clark is the first residence hall at Murray to be specifically designed to support the residential college concept.
  2. Elizabeth College, named for Elizabeth Harkless Woods, wife of fourth Murray State President Ralph H. Woods.
  3. Hart College, named for George Hart, a Board of Regents member and former mayor of Murray.
  4. Hester College, named for Cleo Gillis Hester, who served Murray State University from 1927 to 1960, as registrar.
  5. 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.
  6. Richmond College, named for the third president of the University, James H. Richmond.
  7. 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.
  8. 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). For the 2006-2007 academic year, 873 students were involved with Greek life (10.4% of undergraduates).

North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) chapters

Murray State also has a chapter of Kappa Sigma (chartered 2006), whose nationals are not a member of the NIC.

Panhellenic Conference sororities include

National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)

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

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.

All-Campus Sing
All-Campus Sing is an annual event, first held in 1958, that takes place each April in which residential colleges, fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations compete in choreographed song and dance. The event is hosted by the local chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota (original organizer of the event), in conjunction with the MSU Alumni Association and the Office of Student Affairs. It's held on the steps of historic Lovett Auditorium.

Campus Lights
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.

Racer One
In 1976, the tradition of having a thoroughbred run around the track after every MSU football touchdown began. The name of that first racehorse was Violet Cactus. After the death of Violet Cactus in 1984, the horse Nancy Duster took over the job for one year. Violet Cactus is actually buried at Roy Stewart Stadium near the area where Racer 1 begins its run around the football field after a Racer touchdown. In 1985, the first Racer 1 began circling the football field after touchdowns. Several horses have filled the role of Racer 1 since 1985.

Shoe Tree
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.

[edit] Athletics

Murray State's 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 is particularly renowned for its men's basketball program, which has made 13 appearances in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2006. Current Alabama head basketball coach Mark Gottfried coached the Racers to three Ohio Valley Conference Championships, all three years he coached there, the only OVC coach to accomplish such a mark.[4].

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. Current Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen is a former Racers assistant under Beamer. Illinois head coach Ron Zook was an assistant at Murray State for the football team.

v • d • e
Sports teams based in Kentucky
Baseball IL: Louisville Bats • SAL: Lexington Legends • FL: Florence Freedom Flag of Kentucky
Basketball CBA: East Kentucky Miners
Football af2: Lexington Horsemen • Louisville Fire • MCFL: Louisville Bulls • Northern Kentucky Xtreme • Hardin County Wolverines • Central Kentucky Studs • NWFA: Kentucky Karma
Hockey MWHL: Louisville Chill
Australian rules football USAFL: Louisville Kings
College athletics
(NCAA Division I)		 Eastern Kentucky University • University of Kentucky • University of Louisville • Morehead State University • Murray State University • Western Kentucky University • Bellarmine University (lacrosse only)

.

[edit] Publications

The Murray State News
The Murray State News is the student newspaper of Murray State University. The newspaper has been the recipient of several ACP Pacemaker awards, the highest award given to collegiate newspapers. The most recent awards were earned in 2004[5], 1999[6], and 1998[7]. The newspaper also gained notoriety between 1998 and 2001 through the work of Darin Shock. Shock earned the honor of top college cartoonist in the nation from the College Media Advisers in 2000. He had earned second place honors during the previous year.[8]

The Shield
The school yearbook, The Shield, was awarded three Pacemaker awards and two CSPA Silver Crowns in the last ten years.

New Madrid
The University's national literary magazine, New Madrid([2]),features work from a range of nationally-recognized authors, and has received acclaim from sources as diverse as La Bloga, a leading Hispanic journal, and New Pages, a leading national review of literary magazines.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Arts and entertainment

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Business and industry

  • W. Dwight Armstrong (BS '71), vice president of Provimi Holding Co. and chairman of North American Nutrition Companies, Inc. [5]
  • Arthur J. Bauernfeind (BA '60), Chairman & CEO of Westfield Capital Management LLC[6][7][8][9]
  • 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.[10][11]
  • Kris Robbins ('81, MBA '83, ΛΧΑ), president and CEO of Security Benefit Corp. [12]

[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 [13]

[edit] Journalism

  • Ron Beaton (BA '80), retired WPSD-TV NewsChannel 6 news anchor.
  • Mandy Murphy (ΣΣΣ), reporter and co-anchor at KTVI-TV Fox 2 News in St. Louis [14]
  • Ji Il Park (BA '00), writer and CEO of NewsJapan
  • Amy Watson (BA '89), news anchor at WTVF-TV NewsChannel 5 in Nashville [15]

[edit] Partner universities

Toyama University (Japan)

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=3
  2. ^ http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=5
  3. ^ http://www.murraystate.edu/chfa/Music/
  4. ^ Mark Gottfried. Rolltide.com (2002-05-02). Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  5. ^ http://www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/npm04.html
  6. ^ http://www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/npm99.html
  7. ^ http://www.studentpress.org/acp/winners/npm98.html
  8. ^ "Cartoonist named top college artist in nation". The Murray State News. Nov. 17, 2000. p.7.
v • d • e
Kentucky Higher Education
Public Universities
Eastern Kentucky University • Kentucky State University • Morehead State University • Murray State University • Northern Kentucky University • University of Kentucky • University of Louisville • Western Kentucky University
Private Colleges and Universities
Alice Lloyd College • Asbury College • Asbury Theological Seminary • Bellarmine University • Berea College • Brescia University • Campbellsville University • Centre College • Clear Creek Baptist Bible College • Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing • Georgetown College • Kentucky Christian University • Kentucky Mountain Bible College • Kentucky Wesleyan College • Lexington Theological Seminary • Lindsey Wilson College • Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary • Mid-Continent University • Midway College • Pikeville College • Saint Catharine College • Simmons College • Southern Baptist Theological Seminary • Spalding University • Spencerian College • Sullivan University • Thomas More College • Transylvania University • Union College • University of the Cumberlands
Community/Technical Colleges
Ashland • Big Sandy • Bluegrass • Bowling Green • Elizabethtown • Gateway • Hazard • Henderson • Hopkinsville • Jefferson • Madisonville • Maysville • Owensboro • Somerset • Southeast Kentucky • West Kentucky
v • d • e
Ohio Valley Conference