Skip to Main Content

RG003-12-34 Office of the President - Constantine W. Curris Office Files

Office of the President - Constantine W. Curris Office Files

Collection Title: Constantine W. Curris Office Files

Series Number: RG003-12-34

Department: Office of the President

Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Haley Allen in November 2012

Date Listed: November 19, 2012

Date Span: 1975-1984

Size of Collection: 0.5 linear feet

Number of Boxes: 1 legal size document case

Type of Material: Correspondence and memos

Condition of Material: Good

Arrangement: Organized alphabetically by title of file folder; chronological arrangement

Historical Information: Constantine W. Curris served as the sixth president of Murray State University from 1973 to 1983. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky on November 13, 1940 and grew up in Williamstown, Kentucky. He graduated from Grant County High School at Dry Ridge in 1958. He attended the University of Kentucky where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 and Doctorate in Education in 1967. He also received a master’s degree in political science and public administration at the University of Illinois in 1965. Prior to becoming president of Murray State he served as Vice President and Dean of Faculty at West Virginia Institute of Technology (1971-1973), Vice President of Student Affairs at Marshall University (1969-1971), the Director of Educational Programs for the West Virginia Board of Education (1968-1969) and as Vice President and Dean of Faculty at Midway College (1965-1968). Curris became the youngest president in Kentucky when he was hired on September 15, 1973 at age thirty two. After years of declining faculty morale and a lengthy legal dispute with a divided Board of Regents, he departed Murray State on June 30, 1983. The next day he became president of the University of Northern Iowa. Curris served as president and professor of public policy until 1995 and later as president of Clemson University until 1999. He presently is a member of the Board of Regents of Murray State University.

Scope and Content: Collection consists of the office files of former Murray State University President Constantine W. Curris from 1975 to 1984. The files contain correspondence from 1975 to 1981, institutional planning reports from 1975 to 1979 and news media notices from 1980 to 1983.

Subject Headings / Descriptors:

Curris, Constantine W., 1940-

Murray State University – History.

Murray State University – Presidents.