The Calloway County Board of Education will hold a special called work session at 7 a.m.
Athena & Apollo make joyful noise
MURRAY – There was no shortage of joyful noise at Murray State University last week, compliments of the Athena & Apollo Choral Festival. This year’s gathering included high school groups from Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Tennessee, a total of 200 teens. The day began with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by two rehearsals – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – and then problem-solving clinic and coaching sessions. After the exhilarating public concert at 6:30 p.m., the singers boarded their yellow buses for the long ride home.
According to Dr. Brad Almquist, MSU’s Athena & Apollo organizer along with Dr. Christopher Mitchell*, there is no fee for groups to participate in this unique blend of learning, rehearsing and specialized feedback from a professional director.
“The festival provides the music,” Almquist said. “The only thing groups must do is to get here.”
Facilitated by guest conductors, afternoon clinics set Athena & Apollo apart from other workshops for high school singers. “No other festival does this,” Almquist declared.
He went on to explain that the one-day experience on campus is also an effective recruiting tool, not necessarily to attract music majors, but to create awareness that campus music activities, including chorus, welcome non-majors’ participation.
Guest conductors Dr. Tucker Biddlecombe, with collaborative piano by Grayson Pate, and Professor Katie Barton, with collaborative piano by Devonda Treece, offered feedback, encouragement, and vocal problem-solving. Their interactions with the choirs were lessons in details that refine vocal performance, including breathing, enunciation and timing.
Biddlecombe’s warm-up with bass and tenor voices featured an increasingly complex exercise that required paying attention, following directions, making mistakes, and then correcting them. As the group improved their skills, the conductor remarked, “You have all these wonderful things, but you’re not so good at being not so good at things.”
With that declaration, singers learned a non-verbal way to signal, “I made a mistake.” The gesture was used all day, not merely as a reminder that everyone is fallible, but also as a means for individuals to recognize their own mistakes. No shame or embarrassment is intended; the goal is to do better.
During the coaching session for sopranos and altos on the song, “Dreamkeeper,” Professor Katie Barton directed the Athena group to hold on to the “m” sound and accent the “k.”
“Sing those words like you want somebody to answer,” Barton advised.
Later on in the Apollo session, the tenors and basses were reminded by Dr. Biddlecombe, “There has to be more than singing the correct notes.”
The enthusiasm and commitment of the students was evident throughout the day and into the evening. Right before the performance, a McCracken County High School student enthusiastically shared his takeaways from the festival.
“Sing to inspire not impress,” was an important insight Aiden N. garnered from the day.
Chelsey C., from Christian County, learned, “Working together is important. Listen to each other,” she said.
From the morning warmups to the public performance in the evening, the groups were transformed. For the concert, Apollo – both high and low voices – sported identical festival tee shirts. Athenas were garbed in black, a change from the morning’s tee shirts and jeans. Besides their professional appearance, both groups demonstrated incredible restraint. The entire day, not one student pulled out a phone. They were totally focused.
An intermittent highlight of the evening concert was Dr. Biddlecombe quizzing the Apollos on specific things they learned from the day’s coaching and rehearsal. “Singing is an athletic event,” was one maxim, and the proof was in the inspired voices of 200 young people.
Founded in 2011, the festival was known as Athena because it was devoted to the work of women composers. Over time, as different advisors took charge, the direction of the festival was adjusted to include more participants, thus the Apollo contingent was added.
Guest Apollo Choirs came from Christian County High School in Hopkinsville; Graves County Schools in Mayfield; McCracken County High School in Paducah; New Madrid County Central High School in Missouri; Paducah Tilghman High School’ Pope County High School in Golconda, Illinois; Princeton Community High School in Indiana; and White House Heritage High School in Tennessee.
Guest Athena groups were Hopkinsville’s County High School Treble Choir; Paducah’s McCracken County Treble Choir; From Illinois, Mt. Vernon Township’s Treble Ensemble; Paducah’s Tilghman High School Treble Choir; and Tennessee’s White House Heritage Treble Choir.
The Athena and Apollo Festival convenes every March. For more information, contact the Department of Music at Murray State University. Dr. Brad Almquist’s email is balmquist@murraystate.edu.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story did not identify Dr. Christopher Mitchell as one of the event organizers. We apologize for the omission.
Recipient of a Governor’s Award in the Arts, Constance Alexander has won numerous grants, awards, and residencies for her poetry, plays, prose and civic journalism projects. She is also a founding board member of The Murray Sentinel and currently serves as our board secretary.
Contact her at constancealexander@twc.com.
Murray City Council Regular Meeting
The Murray City Council will meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 500 Main Street.
Murray Park Committee Regular Meeting CANCELED
The Murray Park Committee will not meet today.
Murray Parks Committee Regular Meeting – CANCELED
The Murray Parks Committee will meet at noon at City Hall.
Board of Regents selects Patterson to be next MSU president
MURRAY – In a special called meeting, the Murray State University (MSU) Board of Regents selected Dr. Ron Patterson to be the university’s 15th president after current President Dr. Robert “Bob” Jackson retires at the end of June.
The nationwide search began after Jackson, who has served as MSU president since August 2018, announced his retirement in September. Regents formed an internal search committee and enlisted Academic Search, a search firm based in Washington, D.C., to assist the committee through the process.
On Jan. 31, the presidential search committee held a special called meeting and, after meeting in executive session for more than three hours, unanimously approved a list of 11 semi-finalists, who were only identified by number to protect their anonymity. The committee again held special called meetings on Feb. 10 and 11 to interview the semi-finalists, spending roughly 16 hours in closed session over the course of the two days before voting on four finalists – Christian Hardigree, Diana Rogers-Adkinson, Chad Tindol and Patterson. Finalists were interviewed between Feb. 17 and March 3.
Within minutes of calling today’s meeting to order, the board went into an executive session related to personnel, which lasted approximately an hour and 15 minutes. When the board reconvened in open session, Board Chair Leon Owens made the announcement.
“Murray State University places its highest priority on student learning and teaching excellence and actively engages students, faculty, staff and the community in collaborative scholarship, student activity and research,” Owens said. “Murray State University is a partner with school districts, businesses, communities, alumni and others throughout our service region and beyond. The board is committed to continued engagement and investment in our communities, students, faculty and staff. Our mission is to continue this progress with leadership that exemplifies the university’s commitment to excellence and service.
“… Pursuant to the board’s selection of the university’s 15th president, it is recommended that the board grant authority to the board chairperson to negotiate a contract of employment inclusive of the salary and contract length approved by the board and on form substantially similar to past contracts of employment. The board extends its gratitude to members of the campus community for their interest and involvement in the search process, with special appreciation to the presidential search committee and search firm, Academic Search.
“The recommendation is that the board of regents, upon the recommendation of the chair of the board of regents, approve the appointment of Dr. Ron Patterson as the 15th president of Murray State University at a fiscal year salary not to exceed $400,000 for a term of four years. The board further delegates to the chair of the board of regents the authority to negotiate a contract of employment per the conditions outlined by the board.”
By roll call vote, the board unanimously approved the motion to let Owens negotiate the contract of employment with Patterson.
Patterson is currently the president of Chadron State College (CSC) in Chadron, Nebraska, a position he has held for almost two years. According to his bio on the CSC website, he graduated from Creighton University in 2022 with a Doctor of Education in higher education administration and leadership. He also holds an Education Specialist degree from Arkansas State University, a Master of Arts from Marietta College, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee – Southern and Associate of Arts from Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Patterson has 25 years of experience in higher education, including four years as a former assistant men’s basketball coach and head men’s golf coach at other universities. He spent six years at the University of North Alabama, half of that time as the vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to his time at the University of North Alabama, Patterson spent 14 years as an administrator at Marietta College in Ohio, University of Central Arkansas, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Christian Brothers University in Memphis.
“Patterson is a visionary, scholar-practitioner and possesses a wealth of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion, enrollment management, program and course development, student, faculty and staff development, strategic planning, assessment, and accreditation,” the bio states. “An interdisciplinary leader by training, his research focuses on continuous improvement in higher education. Patterson’s commitment as a servant leader takes many forms. He has traveled extensively to foster positive relationships between institutions. He has collaborated with governmental agencies in such countries as The People’s Republic of China and Democratic Republic of the Congo to enroll students. At the local and regional level, he often volunteers at community-related functions and speaks frequently to civic groups, professional associations, and community agencies and organizations.”
All four finalists participated in town hall meetings that were open to the public as part of their on-site interviews. The town hall meeting with Patterson took place on Feb. 27 and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/NGkqdJbNPxg?si=HFhVqOu7-jmDB6qr&t=300
Federal education funding cuts poised to disrupt local economy (Part Two)
By Loraine DeBonis/For The Sentinel
MURRAY – Calloway County’s largest industry – education services – faces the potential for millions in federal funding cuts following President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders aimed at education; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); school lunches; and scientific research.
Between the county’s two K-12 school districts and Murray State University, education is also the largest employer, accounting for 16.7% of the workforce, followed by manufacturing (12.2%), and health care and social assistance (11.9%), according to Data USA.
MSU is the centerpiece of Calloway County’s economy, generating $265 million in annual total revenue from university employee, student and visitor spending, according to an MSU economic impact report updated in 2024.
The university expended $60.5 million of federal grant and student financial aid funds in fiscal year ‘23-24, 87% of which was for student financial aid, Shawn Touney, MSU’s executive director of marketing and communication, told The Sentinel in an email.
“Murray State has not received any official communication [about federal funding cuts] and will continue to monitor, along with all other policies and procedures at the state and federal levels. Any possible impacts are speculative in nature at this time,” Touney wrote.
Trump’s executive orders affecting education, many of which are being challenged in court:
- promote using public funds to fund private institutions
- require colleges and universities to eliminate DEI offices and programs
- and restrict how funding for scientific research funding can be used.
At press time, widespread reports said an executive order to dismantle the United States Department of Education (ED) is imminent, although newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that eliminating the agency would require an act of Congress.
In addition to ensuring equal access to education, investigating civil rights violations in schools and conducting research, ED awards more than $120 billion a year in grants, work-study funds and low-interest loans to approximately 13 million students. The federal agency also manages $1.5 trillion in student loans and repayment programs.
Proponents of the plan suggest that disbursing and managing financial aid and loans could move to the U.S. Treasury while critics argue that the agency, which is facing staff and budget cuts of its own, would be hard-pressed to take over the task.
How these changes will affect MSU and our local economy “is always hard to predict because of how interconnected everything is,” said Shelly Baskin, finance and operations manager for the United Campus Workers-CWA. “For example, if a university loses grant funding for a big STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program, they might just decide to close that program and lay off the staff.”
Or, he added, they might shut down a different program to keep the STEM program going.
The Trump Administration’s cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for scientific research, including a 15% cap on indirect costs, are weighing on the mind of MSU Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology Gary ZeRuth.
“Our research program relies entirely on federal funding from the National Institutes of Health,” ZeRuth said. “NIH grants not only provide money for required supplies and reagents, but also pay researcher salaries, provide tuition support and stipends for graduate students, and help disseminate research findings at research conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.”
ZeRuth said his lab, which studies the role of genes in cellular division, could help identify therapeutic targets for the treatment or prevention of diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Although NIH cuts will be more significant to tier-1 research schools like University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, ZeRuth noted that research is an important recruiting tool for students and faculty alike.
“The success of our pre-health professional students, the college of science, engineering and technology, and the university as a whole would likely suffer if research was significantly impeded,” he said.
The potential loss in funding comes at a time when science has been expanding at MSU, including the $45.5 million construction of a new building for the School of Nursing and Health Professions and a $60 million veterinary sciences building.
Construction projects like these are among a handful expected to generate $43 million in tax revenue and 2,457 direct and indirect jobs through 2030, an MSU economic impact report estimates.
“What we know for sure is that institutions and communities tend to respond to financial uncertainty by imposing austerity in the short term,” Baskin added. “This usually starts with hiring freezes, but can quickly move to short-term furloughs, salary cuts, or even full-on layoffs depending on how dire the circumstances are.”
Salaries are the biggest expense and often the first place universities cut, but they could also look at deferring facilities maintenance, which Baskin said would affect local businesses that might be contracted to do the work or provide supplies.
“If there are cuts to the university, we will be directly impacted,” said Breanna Morales, Murray native and owner of The Willow Bistro, a restaurant located directly across from campus.
A favorite of professors and administrators hosting small parties, guest speakers or prospective employees, Willow Bistro took a 50% hit to sales at the start of the pandemic when activity on campus was limited, Morales said. “The more people on campus, the more sales.”
Tonya Wetherington is regional sales manager for Gopal Hospitality Management, which owns SpringHill Suites in Murray. She said the hotel has a great relationship with the university, which brings in many people but is not the primary source of sales.
Local factories, other businesses and groups like the Murray Chamber of Commerce often host visitors or events at the hotel in addition to the traffic from MSU parents, alumni, Greek organizations and athletic opponents.
“I don’t want anyone to lose their funding,” she said, but the prospect isn’t a big concern for the hotel, which opened in 2016 and employs 25 full-time and 10-15 part-time workers. Wetherington also pointed to the expansion of the MSU’s nursing program and new veterinary degree as positive signs for the future.
Sydney Littrell, from Little Rock, Ark., chose Murray State specifically because it was the closest university to her hometown that offered a “strong” undergraduate Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) program.
“I’m personally most concerned about schools losing Title I and Title III funding, and teacher pay remaining low,” said Littrell, who is in her third year at MSU.
Federal Title I funding is used to support low-income students, and TItle III funding is used to help English language learners, like those Littrell teaches in her current practicum placement in Mayfield.
“I am worried about new legislation (especially budget cuts and anti-DEI) making work in our field more difficult,” she said.
This article is the second of a two-part series. Part One focused on K-12 education.
Murray Board of Education April Meeting
The Murray Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. at the Carter Administration Building, 208 S 13th Street. See agenda.
Murray Board of Education Regular Meeting
The Murray Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. at the Carter Administration Building, 208 S 13th Street. *Updated with final agenda March 12.
