Murray State University
Murray State University is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level and graduate courses in Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, and Henderson.
History
Murray State University was founded after the passage of Senate Bill 14 by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which created two normal schools in the early 20th century to address the growing demand for professional teachers. One was to be located in the western part of the state, and many cities and towns 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 western normal school, while Morehead was chosen for the eastern normal school. On November 26, 1922, John Wesley Carr was elected the first president of the Murray State Normal School by the State Board of Education. Believing it had the authority to elect the president, the Normal School Commission picked Rainey Wells as the first president. On May 15, 1923, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled for the State Board of Education, and Carr became Murray's first president.Murray State Normal School opened on September 24, 1923. In 1924, the first building on Murray State's campus, the Administrative Building, was constructed. Before this, all MSU classes had been held on the first floor of what is now Murray Middle School, located on Main Street. Designed by Joseph & Joseph in the Collegiate Gothic style the Administrative Building, later known as Wrather Hall, housed classrooms, a dining hall, offices, and a chapel. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and renovated soon after, finally being renamed to Wrather West Kentucky Museum, named for Murray State executive vice-president Marvin O. Wrather. All students lived at home or boarded with local families until the first dormitory, Wells Hall, was constructed in 1925. Wilson Hall was also completed under Carr's presidency, with other structures in progress.
In 1926, Rainey T. Wells, recognized as the founder of Murray State, became its second president. Wells served 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 renamed Murray State Normal School and Teachers College, with a four-year curriculum, and the General Assembly granted it authority to confer baccalaureate degrees. In 1928, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1930, the name was changed to Murray State Teachers College and it was granted authority to offer liberal arts and pre-professional courses. The name was changed again in 1948 to Murray State College, with the expansion of the programs to include graduate-level courses, in 1966 the General Assembly authorized the Board of Regents to change the name to Murray State University.
Shield
The Shield has 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—its three stars represent hope, endeavor, and achievement.Campus
Quad
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 the campus. This part of the campus, known as the Quad, 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 is the oldest building on campus, now known as Wrather West Kentucky Museum. It was first known as the Administration Building and then as Wrather Hall, and housed classrooms and offices, before it became a museum. Ground for Wrather was broken on October 15, 1923, and it has been in use since 1924. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and features a large auditorium that is frequently used for lectures and meetings.
Faculty Hall, Wells Hall, and the Arthur J. Bauernfeind Business Building 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 numerous classrooms, practice rooms, recital halls, the Robert E. Johnson Theatre, Clara Eagle Art Gallery, WKMS-FM, and television studios used for student work.
Directly south of the Quad is Sparks Hall. The five-story, 39,000-square-foot, Sparks Hall was completed in 1967 for $1,308,514, and functions as the main administrative building, housing the offices of student financial aid, registration, accounting and financial services, human resources and branding, marketing and communication.
To the south of the Quadrangle, and directly west of Sparks Hall is Oakhurst, the residence of the university president. Construction of the mansion, originally known as Edgewood, began in 1917 and was completed in 1918. The home was built by Rainey T. Wells and his wife. The board of regents purchased the home from Wells in June 1936. It was remodeled that year and renamed Oakhurst in preparation for James H. Richmond's occupation of the house.
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 has since been closed and converted into a pedestrian thoroughfare. Along the west side of the pedestrian pathway are 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, Mason Hall, and the front facade of the now-demolished Ordway Hall. Woods Hall, a former dormitory located behind Waterfield Library, was razed in the summer of 2019, and the space it occupied will soon be replaced with a park.Ordway Hall was the most historic building in the central portion of campus. It was completed in 1931. Originally used as a men's dormitory, 38,600-square-foot Ordway Hall later housed event space and several offices. Because of costly renovation needs, Ordway was razed in 2013. The front facade was retained as a monument to its significance.
Science campus
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 houses classrooms and offices for the College of Education. Construction continued with the new state-of-the-art science complex for biology and chemistry 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 completion in March 2008. The new clock tower was dedicated in 2007 as the Jesse L. Jones Family Clock Tower. A physics and engineering building was completed in the summer of 2017.Sports and recreation facilities
The majority of the university's sports and recreation facilities are located on the northernmost edge of the campus, along the KY-121 Bypass. The most prominent structure in the sports complex is Roy Stewart Stadium. The stadium, the 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, home of the three-time NCAA champion rifle squad. The 8,602-seat CFSB Center was completed in 1998 to replace the aging Racer Arena, which had been outgrown by the men's and women's basketball teams. Racer Arena remains in use by the women's volleyball team.On April 16, 2005, the new Susan E. Bauernfeind Student Recreation and Wellness Center was dedicated. The 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.
Residence halls
A building campaign is underway to replace many of the older residence halls. A replacement building for Clark College was completed and ready for residents at the beginning of the 2007 fall semester. Clark Hall was the newest building, and the first residence hall specifically designed around the residential college concept and model. A new four-story, 270-bed, 79,900-square foot Richmond Hall was opened for James H. Richmond Residential College in fall 2009. It has a similar concept and design as Clark College. In the fall of 2009, the old Clark Hall building was torn down.Following the completion of the spring 2011 semester, the university began renovation to Elizabeth Hall, which houses the Elizabeth Residential College. The $7.2 million renovation project closed the building for the entire 2011–12 academic year as the highrise was upgraded to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The renovation also included new heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver status. The renovated Elizabeth Hall reopened on August 18, 2012. The university broke ground in March 2025 on a new learning commons/residence hall.