Collection Title: Ralph H. Woods Papers
Series Number: RG003-12-06
Department: Office of the President
Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Tara Marcum in March 2012
Date Listed: March 28, 2012
Date Span: 1945-1973
Size of Collection: 3.0 linear feet
Number of Boxes: 1 letter half size document case and 1 oversized box
Type of Material: Correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs and ephemera
Condition of Material: Good
Arrangement: Organized alphabetically by title of file folder; chronological arrangement
Historical Information: Ralph Henry Woods was the fifth president of Murray State College, presently Murray State University, from 1945 to 1968. He was born in southwest Virginia on June 1, 1898. He attended Troutdale High School in Grayson County, Virginia and Berea College. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and in 1921 entered the University of Kentucky where he studied vocational agricultural teaching. After graduating in 1923 with a bachelor's degree in education, Woods taught at LaCenter, Kentucky and the following year became principal of the school. In 1926 he returned to the University of Kentucky and earned his master's degree. In the fall of 1927 he was accepted at Cornell University and received his doctorate in 1930. He again returned to the University of Kentucky as a faculty member. He was appointed the director of vocational education for the State of Kentucky in 1936. In 1945, Woods was selected as president of Murray State College. He remained president until his retirement in 1968. After his retirement he edited an institutional history of Murray State titled Murray State University: Fifty Years of Progress, 1922-1972. He died on September 25, 1973.
Scope and Content: Collection consists of published materials related to the life of Ralph H. Woods, president of Murray State College, from 1945 to 1973. The collection contains speeches, resolutions, biographical information, newspaper clippings, obituaries, awards and honors, ephemera and artifacts. The papers include correspondence associated with the writing of the history of the university.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Woods, Ralph Henry, 1898-1973.
Murray State University – History.
Murray State University – Presidents.
Murray State College – Presidents.
