Despite the breakneck pace of this academic year, Murray State University saw numerous changes across the University — both good and bad. With a student body as vocal as Murray State’s, how the University approaches our needs is vital. In one last retrospective as the semester races through its final lap, I have to ask — how did the changes made this year meet the needs and expectations of the campus community?
In the spring of 2025, Ron Patterson was named the University’s president. If any year was going to be the time for changes, it was going to be Patterson’s maiden voyage.
This year, thankfully, saw many improvements.
Academically, the future is shining bright for the University because of changes and plans put in place over the last year. Several academic programs, such as the Masters of Business Administration, the journalism and mass communications department and the computer science and information systems department have added and revamped, or plan to, different programs.
The School of Nursing and Health Professions’ new building, Jackson Hall, has made major progress this past year. The current plan is for the building to be operational for the fall 2026 semester. The new building will relocate nursing classes from the 60-year-old Mason Hall. A breath of fresh air — and fresh ventilation — is a welcome change for nursing students.
The new nursing building, while a great addition to the campus, highlights a serious underlying issue — the academic buildings are very outdated. Wilson Hall and the Business Building, in true Midwestern fashion, fluctuate in temperature anywhere from the bottom to the top of the thermometer. Faculty Hall’s elevators and doors are always operating on their last wire. Wheelchair accessibility is inconsistent at best — multiple buildings only have ramps completely out of the way from the main path. While the addition of Jackson Hall will be great for students and faculty alike, I hope the University takes a look at renovating older buildings before adding new ones. Replacement cannot be the solution for every outdated building.
The important academic developments this year were not unaccompanied. Murray State made major efforts this year to change the daily lives of students on campus. Some of these changes were incredibly welcome.
Winslow Dining Hall has made major improvements. The previous academic year was one filled with complaints about the quality of food, labeling of ingredients and availability of stations. Luckily, this past year has shown that the University and Sodexo have tried to listen. Food quality, at least in my opinion, has improved significantly from last year. Whenever I’m in Winslow, I see more stations open more consistently than they were. Winslow has also been hosting more events and theme nights, such as the carnival-themed dinner on Feb. 26. Late last month, Winslow added a soft serve machine to the dessert station, and has quickly become a student favorite.
The quality of Winslow has absolutely improved this year, so hopefully this trend continues into the next year.
Despite the improvements, it is important to note that Winslow still struggles with the proper labeling of food. Stations outside of Simple Servings are safer for students with dietary restrictions, with ingredients and potential allergens more consistently listed for the food at each station. However, that improvement only applies if the signage is correct and transparent. Oftentimes, it’s neither. For example, the dessert station will label “assorted cookies,” with no distinction between them. Peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies are placed directly next to each other, posing an incredibly serious risk for students with allergies. Until Winslow takes further steps to ensure the safety of students with proper labeling, I cannot extend my full praise to the dining hall.
Unfortunately for students and faculty alike, the parking situation across campus remained absolutely abysmal this year. If anything, it actually became significantly more of a problem. Most of the parking lot behind Price Doyle Fine Arts and Oakley Applied Sciences was demolished last year to make way for the construction of Jackson Hall. This year, more of the remaining parking lot was blocked off for the construction project. At the start of the spring semester, a portion of the parking lot by Hart Residential College was blocked off for the construction of the new learning commons between Hart Hall and the Wellness Center.
With enrollment on the rise, the current degradation of parking across campus poses a worrying problem. The University is constructing buildings without parking lots to go along with them. If there are no significant additions to parking in the upcoming years, Murray State is going to have more cars than spaces to accommodate them. I hope that the University takes measures to fix the issues it created with parking this year. The last year, while imperfect, has been a promising one for the University. It has set up a bright future for academics, with better buildings and expanded opportunities for students. The University has made it clear that it cares about Murray students — that much is evident. Let’s just hope that interest in student needs sticks around so that we want to do the same.
