One hundred years ago this month, state officials with the Kentucky Normal School Commission decided on two locations for the development of new collegiate institutions: Morehead and Murray.
In 1926, the western Normal School became Murray State Normal School and Teachers College — and offered a four-year curriculum capable of delivering degrees.
In 1930, the campus — enjoying the developments of Lovett Auditorium, Carr Health and Pogue Library — was renamed to the Murray State Teachers College, and was granted authority to pursue liberal arts and pre-professional courses.
In 1966, it became Murray State University — and today boasts more than 140 degree options, with students from all but Rhode Island and Vermont and representatives from 50 foreign countries in class.
Current MSU President Dr. Bob Jackson spoke on this history, and more, during his Tuesday morning visit in Trigg County — which included a stop at the News Edge studios, a conversation with Trigg County High School juniors and seniors, and a brief luncheon with the Cadiz Rotary Club before heading up to Lexington and Frankfort for legislative affairs.
Today, more than 100 individuals within the Trigg County school district have some form of certification from Murray State — and west Kentucky’s deep ties with its local college is no accident.
Jackson, and the Board of Regents, naturally want those deep ties to continue. And as one of three founders of the richly-historic Ohio Valley Conference, Murray State and its officials recently made the excruciatingly difficult decision to change leagues — joining the Missouri Valley Conference this past summer.
“Asset preservation” continues to be the biggest reason for this move, but Jackson noted Tuesday that the school’s alumni base fits the MVC to a tee.
While vocational and technical jobs remain a critical part of the country’s future industrial success, Jackson noted that a college track remains vitally important for the improvement and perpetuity for a vibrant rural America.
The pandemic, he said, only proved that further.
Now down to 48% this year in Kentucky, Jackson said the college going rate continues to decline nationwide. It’s trended downward for each of the last five years. In 2022, there are 1.3 million fewer students in college than in 2020, and four million fewer than in 2012.
Jackson added that one of the biggest reasons for this decline in college attendance — aside from perceived achievement gaps and personal confidence — is cost, and the failure to complete FAFSA paperwork. He noted that only 54% of seniors in Kentucky this year submitted student financial aid profile, and in last year alone U.S. high school graduates left $3.75 billion in federal aid on the table.
Of that, Kentuckian high schoolers abandoned more than $60 million.
Still, Jackson said recent estimates show that 50% of Murray State students who leave campus with a degree come away with zero debt — tops among Kentucky’s public universities.
Furthermore, and coinciding with Morehead State, Racer officials recently inked a serious deal with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System — making it easier for community college students across the Commonwealth to transfer incoming credits from two-year certificates into four-year degree tracks.
During the Cadiz Rotary Club meeting, it was discerned that Jim Wallace was the “oldest MSU alum” in the room, as the Class of 1965. Jackson gifted him with a copy of the recently-released centennial book “The Finest Place We Know” — a line from the school’s Alma mater.
