Richmond Residential College
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Richmond College (colloquially often referred to as Richopolis) is one of the eight residential colleges of Murray State University. The college was established in the fall of 1996 when Murray State became the first public university in the United States to establish a campus-wide residential college system.
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[edit] Richmond Hall
Richmond College is made up of only one building: Richmond Hall. The residence hall was built in 1961 to house 242 men, and it is the oldest and smallest residence hall still in use on campus. Richmond Hall and Richmond College are both named in honor of James H. Richmond, who served as the third president of the university, then known as Murray State Teachers College, from 1936 until 1945. The living quarters for students are all suite-style with each set of two double rooms sharing a small bathroom. They are located on four floors with one lounge for studying or socializing at the center of each of the floors. Living quarters for the residence director and a library are separated from the main building by a glass walkway. In the early fall of 2000, the building was wired for high-speed internet access, and the natural beige color of the brick exterior was painted red. The painting of most of the residential colleges in 2000 was criticized by many as an unnecessary expense that did not improve the look of the buildings.
[edit] Future Plans
Plans to replace Richmond Hall were first drafted in the late 1990s, and a new building was to be constructed near Hamilton Field. Budget problems put an end to the original plan, and by 2003 a new plan was under development for a new combined Richmond and Clark Hall on Chestnut Street near Regents and White Colleges. Once again, budget problems killed the plan, and the university finally moved forward with construction of a new Clark Hall near Winslow Dining Hall in 2006. Currently a new Richmond Hall is planned for future construction at an estimated cost of about $13 million following the completion of the new Clark Hall, which will replace the current home of the Clark Residential College.
[edit] College Heads
1. ????(1996-1999)
2. Dr. Rose Bogal-Allbritten (1999-2000)
3. Dr. Oliver Muscio (2000-present), professor of Organic Chemistry
[edit] College Council Presidents
- Kim Eickhoff, fall 1999
- Ryan Brown, spring 2000
- Jenny Schaad, fall 2000-spring 2001
- Mark Marino, fall 2001-spring 2002
- Lindsay Weber, fall 2002-spring 2003
- Kris Gordon, fall 2003-spring 2004
- Joshua Pike, fall 2006
[edit] Criticism
The residential college system at Murray State was modeled after the classical models of the colleges at Oxford University and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and at Yale University and Harvard University in the United States. Critical components of these classical models include dining halls, libraries, many common meeting areas for activities, group study, and academic training, and large courtyards or outdoor spaces for socializing and recreation. The Murray State model still forces students to share central dining areas and recreation areas, and the current buildings also lack significant common space that would be utilized for a variety of functions. This weakness causes the residential colleges to lose some of their sense of envisioned identity, and they remain to many as just dormitories that happen to each have a coat of arms.
