Official groundbreaking brings Murray and Paducah together for higher education
MURRAY, Ky. (June 15, 2012) — A visit by Gov. Steve Beshear and a ceremony marked the beginning of second satellite campus that Murray State University will build from the ground up. Like the university’s regional campus in Hopkinsville, Paducah will be home to a new Murray State facility. The anticipated completion date is 2014.
An official groundbreaking for the new MSU Paducah Regional Campus was recently conducted at the building site in Paducah’s Barkley Woods area. Murray State finalized the purchase of the land in 2009 and is partnering with McCracken County, the City of Paducah and the Paducah Economic Development Council in bringing the new facility to life.
“You know, today has been along time coming … and it has taken a lot of people to get us to this point. This is a major step forward, not just for the university and for the coming generations of students, but also for the economic competitiveness of this Purchase area as a whole,” Beshear said. “I applaud everyone involved and thank Dr. Dunn for his leadership.”
Outreach to Murray State’s entire service region has been a particular focus of Dr. Randy Dunn, MSU president. Murray’s Paducah campus is currently housed in the Crisp Center, but has outgrown the space. The new facility will not only allow for more four-year students to attend Murray State in Paducah, but it’s location near West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) makes the transfer from there to a four-year degree program through Murray State for place-bound students attainable.
“We write another page of history for Murray State University here today,” Dunn said. “Buying the land for this new campus at Paducah was a bold and decisive move. Bold leadership is what drove this project and, ultimately, that is what made today a reality.”
“I want to express appreciation for the many individuals who made sure this project came to pass,” said Dr. Constantine Curris, chair of the MSU board of regents. “Murray State is here to meet the educational needs of the people. Today validates that shared vision between Murray and Paducah.”
Joining in the official groundbreaking ceremony were representatives from the four participating partners.
Besides Paducah and Hopkinsville, Murray State has regional campuses in Madisonville and Henderson (both housed at the community colleges).
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