Regents un-name Murray Hall
A former governor's name has been removed from two Oklahoma State University buildings because of his advocacy for racist and segregationist policies.
Gov. William “Alfalfa Bill” Murray, the state's ninth governor, no longer will represent any facilities on the Stillwater campus.
The Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents unanimously approved un-naming Murray Hall and North Murray Hall during a virtual meeting Friday.
Murray led the imp lementation of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation as the Oklahoma Legislature's first speaker of the House. His racist and anti-Semitic views are well documented, and he commonly used racial slurs in his campaign for governor.
Murray's di s cri minatory policies effectively stripped Black Oklahomans of t heir constitutional right to vote, OSU President Burns Hargis said.
In public comment to the regents, OSU senior Destinee Adams said Black student leaders have urged the university to remove Murray's name for decades.
“These weren't just complaints ,” said Adams, a multimedia journalism student. “They were cries that a campus building being named after an overtly racist man has made people of color uncomfortable at their very own university, the university which promised this campus would be a home away from home.
“Today is the day you have the power and the opportunity to show that you consider me your equal.”
Adams also presented 11 action items that Black campus leaders have proposed to further promote diversity and inclusion, including substantive racial bias training for all incoming students and expanded institutional support for minority students.
Several years ago, the university declined to remove the name of Murray Hall but installed an exhibit in the building to give context to the former governor's legacy.
Murray was a “vile” man and “an extremist of the worst kind,” said Andy Lester, an Oklahoma City attorney and former member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Lester said the vote to remove Murray's name was even more significant on Juneteenth, a day celebrating the emancipation of slaves.
OSU will adopt temporary names for the buildings until the board approves permanent names. Neither the board nor the university have stated what temporary names will be chosen.
The buildings house faculty offices, classrooms and meeting spaces.
The board established a formal procedure for removing facility names in 2018. Since then, the OSU Student Government Association and two campus committees voted in favor of stripping Murray's name.
Harg is recommended the measure to the board of regents.
“Today' s decision to remove Murray's name from our campus is an important step to eliminate any actual or symbol of racism on OSU's campus ,” Hargissai din a statement. “For many in the OSU family, the building' s name has invoked reminders of a painful past. I appreciate the leadership demonstrated by students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the unanimous action the Regents took today to remove the name.”
Budgets approved
OS U will operate with its lowest state appropriation, $92.1 million, since 1996 this fiscal year. The student population has increased by 26% since the mid-1990s.
Regent Doug Burns said the Oklahoma A&M system is in“a budgetary crisis” amid decreasing state appropriations.
The board of regents approved a total budget of $852 million for OSU's Stillwater campus, a decrease of $3.7 million. The university expects a total budget decline of about 7%.
Students at the Stillwater campus will not see a tuition or fee increase. The only branch campus to implement student cost increases is the OSU Institute of Technology in Okmulgee, which plans to raise tuition by $7.45 per credit hour and meal plan fees by 3%.
Each of OSU's branch campuses plan to tap into reserves to cover deficits.
Several smaller colleges and universities in the Oklahoma A&M system project declines in enrollment and operating funds. Even though some show an increase in their total budgets, most projected revenues to fall short of expenses for general costs and education.
Some, such as Langston University and Connors State College, will raise tuition and fees. Others, such as Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, cut staff and low-enrollment programs.
The board approved the following total revenue budgets:
• Oklahoma Panhandle State University: $28,579,742, a 1% increase over fiscal year 2020
• Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College: $35,158,548, a 6% decline
•Langston University: $90,225,038, a 7% increase
• Connors State College: $25,882,301, a 2% increase
•OS U-Still water: $852,146,543, a .4% decline
•OS U Institute of Technology: $ 52,445,873, a 6% decline.
• OSU College of Veterinary Medicine: $43,339,172, a .5% increase
•OS U-Oklahoma City: $55,053,455, a 26% decline
• OSU Center f or Health Sciences: $243,684,546, a 7% increase
• OSU-Tulsa: $19,100,892, a 7% decline