"Murray State University’s Paducah Extended Campus Initiative "

Dr. Randy Dunn, Murray State University President

Dr. Randy Dunn, who has served as President of Murray State University since December 2006, presented an engaging history of MSU’s Paducah Campus Expansion Initiative. In his initial term as President, as many new Executives do, he surveyed the current state of the University. In doing so, Dr. Dunn discovered importance of extended campus operations, the potential for growth in Paducah and McCracken County, and the need for an improved facility on the satellite campus. MSU has outgrown the Paducah facility.

Dr. Dunn and the MSU Board of Regents asked how they might serve the need for extended learning services. As a state university, MSU needs to have a presence here in Paducah. As an extension of Paducah’s national prominence in the areas of the river industry, arts and cultural tourism, and health care, it makes sense to make Paducah a higher education destination as well.

The State Council on Higher Education’s clarion call for a statutory requirement to double the number of higher education degree holders by the year 2020 prompted Dr. Dunn and his team to reevaluate whether they were making sufficient progress in this area, leading to a focused effort on the extended campus learning programs.

Working under the premise that higher education has a great impact on the quality of life and business and community development, President Dunn and Board of Regents Chair Alan Stout have made a serious commitment toward progress in this initiative, beginning with feasibility fact-finding and support-building.

In November 2007, Chairman Stout setup an Initiative Taskforce with representatives from the community to recommend a course of action for the expansion initiative through an exploration of the continuum of learning experiences, concentrating largely on the high number of non-traditional students being served in Paducah.

Proximity to West Kentucky Community & Technical College campus and visibility near I-24 have been a very important basis in this “reinvention of what MSU is all about.”

Unofficially, Dr. Dunn anticipates the Taskforce will recommend a new facility built on or very close to the current WKCTC site. The Taskforce has invited feedback from Dr. Barbara Veazey, President of WKCTC, the WKCTC Board, and the PJC Foundation, understanding that these entities have a responsibility to protect public interest and a necessary accountability to the state for public funding as stewards of the community.

In a forward-thinking effort to keep the University’s capital investment options open, MSU has secured a purchase option on Paducah’s Barkley Woods parcel. The property was going to auction, presenting an opportunity, and this action was not meant as a motion to pressure the partnership that is developing between MSU and WKCTC entities.

Citing a Buddhist philosophy, Dr. Dunn hopes to “let things flow naturally forward in whatever order they so choose.” To that the end, he summed up his presentation with his inspirational vision for Paducah to have an institution which offers degree programs at all levels, “Paducah deserves to have a seamless campus for higher education.”

Fellow Rotarian Frank Rasche received the coveted Paul Harris Fellowship award. Eighty-two current Rotarians are Paul Harris Fellows, bringing the total number to 162 over the Club's history since 1915