When current Murray State University President Dr. Bob Jackson announced his imminent retirement, and search for the institution’s next leader began, Dr. Ron Patterson immediately inquired about the position.
A Corinth, Mississippi, native and former collegiate basketball coach, he was deeply familiar with Racer athletics and academics, and its legacy impact on west Kentucky, northwest Tennessee and beyond.
Leading up to his interviews and subsequent visits, he knew Katelyn Young — Murray State’s graduating and nationally-renowned star power forward — would be a part of his search panel.
And he prepared for such.
Thursday morning in a packed Murray Room in Calloway County’s CFSB Center, Patterson was officially introduced as the University’s next president — just the school’s 15th ever in its 103-year history, and first-ever Black man to hold the post.
It drew a laugh, but Board of Regents Chair and search committee presence Leon Owens made note of Patterson’s attention to detail.
Coming from Chadron State College in Nebraska, and scads of other critical education stops, Patterson arrives at a key juncture of campus history.
Not only are several capital projects and educational outlooks already underway, but universities and their students from across the nation find themselves in the crosshairs of diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks and discourse — as well as heavy discussions about international student and educator visas.
Patterson laid out a stencil of what his first year may look like, and also noted that he will open his presidency by launching a “Racer Spirit Learning & Listening” Tour — in order to hear out any and all ideas from regional constituency groups.
Patterson added that Jackson has played a “vital role” in he and his family’s transition to the community, in what is a unique shift in leadership based not in dismissal or professional gain, but in a true “passing of the torch.”
Full audio from his introduction can be found here:
