Murray State College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

in southeastern Oklahoma with the main campus located in

Tishomingo, Oklahoma Tishomingo is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,034 at the 2010 census, a decline of 4.1 percent from the figure of 3,162 in 2000. It was the first capital of the Chick ...

. It is named in honor of former

Oklahoma Governor The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ''ex officio ...

William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray. Murray State College also maintains a smaller campus in Ardmore, Oklahoma as one of four state higher education institutions that participate at the University Center of Southern Oklahoma (the other three are

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, Southeastern State University, and

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

History

Murray State College was established in 1908 in

, as the Murray State School of Agriculture in accordance with a law passed by the first

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

. It was named after William H. Murray (known as "Alfalfa Bill") who had served as legal advisor to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, original ...

, was his delegate to the 1905 convention to draft a constitution for the proposed State of Sequoyah, and was the president of the constitutional convention to draft a document to create the state of Oklahoma, admitted to the union in 1907. The college's first students, numbering about 100, were primarily

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

and Choctaw. At first they had to board with families in town, but Murray, then a US Representative, in 1916 gained approval for Federal funding to construct two dormitories for Native American students.Kirk A. Rodden, "Murray State College", ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''
Accessed October 12, 2010 On March 17, 1924, the Oklahoma Legislature approved a measure to authorize the institution to expand its curriculum to college-level course: it became a community college, granting its first associate degrees in 1924. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was elected as the ninth governor of the state in 1930. His nephew, Clive Murray, was appointed as president of the school in 1931 and served until 1961. The school was renamed in 1955 as Murray State Agricultural College. It was renamed again in 1967, as Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, reflecting its expanded programs. In 1972, the school was removed from the authority of the Board of Regents for Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges and a separate board of regents was appointed to manage it. At the time, the institution was renamed Murray State College. (It is not to be confused with Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky).

Academics

Murray State College offers Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, and

Associate of Applied Science An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

degree programs.

Alumni

Bill Anoatubby Bill Anoatubby (born November 8, 1945) is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overto ...

, Governor of the

* R. Perry Beaver, principal chief of the

Muscogee (Creek) Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

(1996 until 2003), football coach at JenksRandy Krehbiel
"Former Creek Nation chief, Jenks football coach Perry Beaver dies"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 20 ...

'', July 15, 2014. *

Johnston Murray Johnston Murray (July 21, 1902 – April 16, 1974) was an American lawyer, politician, and the 14th governor of Oklahoma from 1951 to 1955. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was the first Native American to be elected as governor ...

, attorney, politician and 14th Governor of Oklahoma (1951-1955) * U. L. Washington,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Vocational education in the United States Education in Johnston County, Oklahoma OK Cooperative Alliance Educational institutions established in 1908 Education in Carter County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Carter County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Johnston County, Oklahoma 1908 establishments in Oklahoma Tribal colleges and universities Community colleges in Oklahoma NJCAA athletics

History

Academics

Alumni

See also

References

External links