McMurry University Campus Center Campaign

A TIME TO

Office of Institutional Advancement 1 McMurry University #938 Abilene, Texas 79697

THRIVE Mc MURRY UNI VERSIT Y Shirley L. and Mildred Garrison United Methodist Student Center

Rather than explaining why I hope you will help McMurry complete a

much-needed modernization and expansion of our campus center building,

let me tell you what makes it the top priority on my agenda as president.

McMurry fills a unique niche in higher education — a small, private, studentcentered academic community where eight in 10 students qualify for need-based financial aid, four in 10 are first-generation college students, and five in 10 are people of color. In short, we provide access to a personalized education to students who might not believe they could afford one.

MY TOP PRIORITY

We are very proud of that. After all, our students are precisely those who benefit most from the level of attention and support that McMurry gives and who have the most to gain through the transformational power of education and the McMurry experience.

A REIMAGINED AND EXPANDED STUDENT CENTER IS VITAL

We are also proud of what our students learn during their time here, both in the classroom and, just as importantly, beyond it. McMurry remains committed to creating a campus environment that prioritizes civic discourse, mutual respect, and servant leadership. How to participate in and contribute to a community might just be the single most important thing a college student can learn.

AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP.

And the interactions that lead to that learning — the conversations, debates, social club events, study groups, and leadership opportunities — take place in the student center. As our country and our world become more fragmented and impersonal by the day, these shared physical spaces are vital to building understanding. In a way, investing in a welcoming, functional common ground where the McMurry community can come together is investing in the foundational idea that what connects us will always matter more than what divides us. I like to think of these interactions as “the other education” that happens at McMurry.

TO McMURRY’S FOUNDATIONAL IDEAS OF CIVIC DISCOURSE, MUTUAL RESPECT,

I welcome your call or email to discuss what we’re doing at McMurry, where a new student center fits in, or how your gift can help advance our mission.

Sandra S. Harper, Ph.D. President, McMurry University

A T IME T O T H RI V E |

McMurry University

“Every student is an individual,” wrote founding president Dr. J. W. Hunt in a

1923 letter announcing the opening of McMurry College, “yet a student body with a common solidarity.”

That dual commitment to making education personal while at the same time affirming the vital importance of community still guides McMurry University today.

Above all, this is a place where interpersonal relationships still matter, and we believe they are more important now than ever.

AN IMPERATIVE TO THRIVE

NEARING THE DAWN OF ITS SECOND CENTURY IN ABILENE WITH EXHILARATING MOMENTUM,

McMURRY UNIVERSITY IS GALVANIZED BY THE HARD-EARNED KNOWLEDGE

THAT GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Although our focus on relationships remains unchanged, the community we serve has evolved. Today, we’re proud to welcome ever-increasing numbers of diverse and first-generation students as well as adult, military, and other nontraditional learners.

We’re also proud to foster vital connections between people of varying circumstances, cultures, languages, and beliefs.

In many ways, McMurry is a microcosm of our West Texas home — not just in our changing demographics, but also in our pioneering spirit, our willingness to roll up our sleeves and work for what we want, and, yes, the hard times we’ve weathered along the way. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, like many small private colleges, we tightened our belts until it hurt in order to survive.

But survive, we did. McMurry is now financially strong and free of debt. Our endowment, our enrollment, and our retention rate are all growing. We are regularly recognized for our success in advancing social mobility, and in 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked us #4 for value among more than 100 regional colleges in the West and #11 overall.

Today, nearing the start of our second century with renewed momentum, we reaffirm our commitment — first expressed by Dr. Hunt — to provide our students with an exceptional, individualized, affordable education in a vibrant, tight-knit community where everyone has the opportunity to realize their fullest potential.

And we do so with the hard-earned knowledge that to fulfill that commitment, we must make another, bolder one: McMurry will not be content to simply survive during our second century; WE WILL THRIVE.

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A T IME T O T H RI V E |

McMurry University

MORE THAN

GOOD ENOUGH

THE TIME HAS COME

For Gwendolyn Murchison, who served on the student center advisory committee,

FORTY YEARS SINCE THE COMPLETION OF OUR CURRENT CAMPUS CENTER,

McMurry made all

McMURRY’S STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF NEED A BUILDING

INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO SERVE

the difference.

A 21 ST CENTURY ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.

Waiting anxiously for her name to be called at commencement, Gwendolyn Murchison knew it had all been worth it — the late nights studying, the student government meetings, the hours at Show Cones, where she worked to make ends meet when loans and grants weren’t enough.

Among McMurry’s needs at the dawn of our second century, none is more pressing than an expansion and modernization of our campus center. The Shirley L. and Mildred Garrison United Methodist Campus Center has served the University well since its completion in 1979, but our students, faculty, and staff need and deserve a facility that better serves today’s McMurry.

The needs of our campus community have changed over the past 40 years in ways that the designers of the Garrison Campus Center couldn’t have imagined. The most apparent is our reliance on ever-evolving technology for teaching, learning, communicating, and doing business. The campus center has been retrofitted, but comprehensive upgrades are essential to remaining competitive.

She also knew that she had left her mark at McMurry as a member of the committee advising University leaders and architects on plans for the student center. There were important choices being made, and she’d taken seriously the privilege to represent McMurry students at the table.

Likewise, the nature of our community itself has changed. In 1979, most students lived on campus, ate in the dining hall, and studied in the library. Today, more students live off campus and many attend classes online or in the evening. These students urgently need a welcoming campus home — a place to grab lunch, charge a laptop, squeeze in a workout, study, share a laugh.

The idea of making such important choices was still new for a young woman who not long before had assumed her own choices were limited. Gwendolyn excelled in track during high school in El Paso but had limited financial resources.

She thought about schools like Texas A&M, Rice, and Baylor, but not seriously. “I didn’t even bother to apply,” she says. “I figured I wasn’t good enough.”

Instead, she came to McMurry with the intention of running track. Just weeks into her first year, though, she suffered an injury that simultaneously ended her track career and showed her what was so special about McMurry. At a bigger institution, she might have fallen through the cracks. At McMurry, faculty and advisors stepped in quickly to help Gwendolyn find other ways to excel, especially as a student leader. “After that,” she says, “I never wondered again if I was good enough.”

Styles and tastes have also changed. What was an innovative design 40 years ago is no longer a highlight of our physical campus. The current building — nearly windowless on its outer walls — neither complements our other signature buildings nor reflects McMurry’s character.

Even the higher education market has changed. Today’s colleges compete for students on more than academic rankings, athletic opportunities, and cost. Facilities matter and the current building simply doesn’t provide what students expect — inspiring, energized, attractive spaces for academic and social life.

Our imperative to THRIVE requires a building that not only meets the needs of McMurry’s students, faculty, staff, and visitors, but also excites, inspires, and engages them — a structure that serves, both symbolically and functionally, as the heart of campus.

THE TIME HAS COME. Gwendolyn Murchison ’21

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A POWERFUL SYMBOL OF McMURRY’S MOMENTUM The expanded and modernized Shirley L. and Mildred Garrison United

Methodist Student Center will do more than just meet the University’s needs better than the current building. It will communicate, in no uncertain terms,

McMURRY IS HERE TO STAY.

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A T I ME TO TH R IVE |

McMurry University

WHAT WE NEED MORE THAN ANYTHING It wasn’t until she saw the 3D interactive renderings of the expanded and modernized student center that McMurry trustee and longtime McMurry friend Kathi Edwards fully appreciated its potential impact. Planning work on the project was underway when she joined the Board, and for two years she attended meetings, studied materials, listened to presentations, and participated in discussions. But, she says, it was mostly an intellectual pursuit, not something that stirred her.

IT WASN’T UNTIL THEY SAW RENDERINGS OF THE NEW STUDENT CENTER THAT KATHI AND MURRAY EDWARDS FULLY UNDERSTOOD ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON McMURRY. Not, that is, until the summer of 2019, when the design firm presented renderings to the trustees. For the first time, in the glass atrium and soaring roofline reminiscent of a hawk’s wings, Kathi saw the building as more than an answer to a need. Beyond what it would do for the campus community, she suddenly saw what it would mean. “From that moment on,” she says, “I have thought, ‘This is what we need more than anything.’ It’s symbolic of where we’re going.”

Neither Kathi nor her husband, Murray, is a graduate of McMurry, but both have strong ties to the University. Both their fathers are McMurry graduates, and the couple grew up in nearby Clyde, going to McMurry basketball games, staying in the residence halls during band camps, and attending concerts on campus. “It’s a longstanding affection that has grown over the years,” says Murray. Today, in addition to Kathi’s service as a trustee, she and Murray give generously to the University, including a leadership gift to help fund the student center project.

In a way, Kathi says, the uncertainty and transition McMurry has faced and overcome in the last decade have helped the University solidify its identity, galvanizing students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni to new aspirations at a critical moment in the University’s history. “It’s okay to not know exactly where the next 100 years will take us,” she says. “All we have to know is that we will thrive there. This campus center symbolizes our optimism.”

A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION & PRIDE

As a physical representation of McMurry’s identity and direction, the expanded and modernized student center is important not

just for what it will do for McMurry, but also for what it will mean.

The new student center will meet a long list of specific, objective needs — from 21st-century connectivity to a fitness and wellness center to expanded and enhanced student gathering areas. But just as importantly, it will physically embody our values and aspirations as we enter our second century, strengthen our already tight-knit campus community, and project our pride in McMurry to visitors.

Rising in the middle of campus, the new building will serve as the unmistakable center of the University and attest to McMurry’s priorities, character, and momentum. In marked contrast to the current low-profile, inward-focused campus center, the new design — with soaring, inverted-curve roof sections and expanses of glass — communicates confidence, aspiration, and openness.

Intentionally designed to function as the University’s “living room,” the student center will feature welcoming, attractive common spaces to bring students together and foster the personal interactions that are a vital part of McMurry’s identity. It will celebrate and promote meaningful interaction through an intermingling of perspectives, a multiplicity of ideas, and a harmony of voices, strengthening our unique community and reflecting the increasingly diverse population that McMurry serves today.

In addition to nurturing relationships, the student center’s interior will serve as a source of inspiration and pride.

Clearly visible from beyond the edges of campus, the campus center will powerfully communicate that sense of pride to visitors, prospective students, faculty members, and the Abilene community, making it a key recruiting asset. Ultimately, this is a building that says, in many ways, that McMurry is stronger than ever.

A T IME T O T HRI V E |

McMurry University

While occupying roughly the same footprint as the current campus center, the expanded and modernized Garrison Student Center will add a second floor and increase the square footage from 39,000 to 58,000 square feet.

With its soaring, inverted-curve roof sections and seemingly acres of glass,

the new building will serve as the clear architectural focal point of McMurry’s campus while simultaneously complementing our beautiful older buildings.

Inside, it will emphasize natural light and open spaces, with several large areas that are open from the first story to the second-story ceiling.

The top design priority for the new center, expanded and enhanced spaces abound for studying in groups or alone, co-curricular activities, and simply hanging out with friends.

New Student Gathering Areas |

MEETING THE NEEDS OF A GROWING COMMUNITY

FROM A STUNNING RECEPTION SPACE OVERLOOKING CAMPUS

TO A REIMAGINED STUDENT SUCCESS SUITE TO A COMMUNITY AREA WHERE OFF-CAMPUS STUDENTS CAN HEAT A MEAL AND

CATCH THE NEWS, THE GARRISON STUDENT CENTER

WILL SERVE THE COMMUNITY IN MANY WAYS.

Central to McMurry’s identity as a United Methodist institution, the chapel will be enlarged and enhanced to more fully meet the spiritual needs of our students, faculty, and staff.

Chapel |

This shared space will serve as a campus home where off-campus and evening students can heat a meal, catch the news, or recharge between classes.

Community Area & Kitchenette |

With both exercise equipment and a multipurpose studio space, this 5,000-square-foot center will be McMurry’s first comprehensive fitness and wellness facility.

Fitness & Wellness Center |

In place of a traditional campus bookstore, a spirit store will carry McMurry apparel and gifts as well as a selection of study essentials.

Spirit Store |

A new campus home for McMurry’s competitive esports team, the esports Center will also be used to support academic programs.

Esports Center |

An expanded student success suite will centralize services like first-year programming, test prep, advising, career development, and more.

Centralized Student Support Services |

This suite will provide an intentionally designed space for student government and other leadership programs, clubs, interest groups, and more.

Student Leadership Suite |

Beautifully appointed event spaces ranging from a 6,000-square-foot hall to the glass-walled President’s Dining Room to a rooftop patio will provide the University and the Abilene community with venues for conferences, receptions, and celebrations.

Enhanced Event Spaces |

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A T I ME TO TH R IVE |

McMurry University

the University’s highest priority is completing a major expansion and modernization of our aging campus center. No other campus facility has the potential to create a positive impact so powerful and far-reaching.

AS McMURRY EMBARKS ON ITS SECOND CENTURY,

By better meeting the needs of a 21st century academic community, by providing an inspiring and beautiful place to study and gather, and by bolstering student and faculty recruitment efforts, a new campus center benefits every single member of the McMurry community — not just today, but for many years into the future.

The estimated cost of the expansion and modernization is $21 million. We plan to break ground in conjunction with our centennial year in 2022. The success of this project will not be possible without the generous support of devoted alumni and friends like you.

Gifts can be made as one-time cash/check/card gifts; recurring monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual gifts; gifts of stock, mutual funds, real estate, or other assets; and even estate gifts. Pledges are payable in installments, which can be spread out up to five years. Every commitment makes a difference; your support is deserved and appreciated.

To learn more about giving opportunities, please contact: Josh Poorman Executive Director of Development poorman.josh@mcm.edu

A NEW CAMPUS CENTER FOR McMURRY DEPENDS ON GENEROUS PRIVATE SUPPORT

FROM ALUMNI, FRIENDS, AND CORPORATE AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS;

EVERY GIFT MATTERS.