Vanderbilt University will honor alumnus Walter R. Murray Jr., the first African American to serve on the Board of Trust, Tuesday, Sept. 4, with a memorial lecture and by naming a new residence hall for him. Murray and Vanderbilt experienced several “firsts” together – he and best friend Perry Wallace were among the university’s first African American undergraduates, and he is believed to be Vanderbilt’s first African American administrator. Murray was also a founder of the Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni. Murray died in 1998. Wallace, who became the first African American varsity basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, will give the Walter R. Murray Jr. Memorial Lecture at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday on the steps of Vanderbilt’s Memorial Hall. A ceremony dedicating the new residence hall as Walter R. Murray Jr. House is at 5:30 p.m. Murray’s wife, Donna, will attend the invitation-only lecture and ceremony.
WHAT: Vanderbilt University will honor alumnus Walter R. Murray Jr., the first African American to serve on the Board of Trust, with a memorial lecture and by naming a new residence hall for him. Murray’s best friend Perry Wallace, the first African American varsity basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, will give
the lecture.
WHERE: Wallace will deliver the lecture from the steps of Memorial Hall. The dedication ceremony will be in front of the residence hall to be named for Murray. Both buildings are located in The Commons, Vanderbilt’s new first-year student community scheduled to open in fall 2008. Currently, sophomores and some juniors are living in The Commons until it officially opens next year. The Commons is located near the university’s Peabody College of education and human development. Parking is available in Lot 77 off of 18th Avenue South.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 4 – the lecture is at 4:30 p.m., the building dedication is at 5:30 p.m.
**The rain location for these events is The Commons Center.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu