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Murray State Regents Praise Campus Community for Dorm Blast Response

Matt Markgraf, WKMS

Murray State University's Board of Regents are praising the university's handling of the dorm explosion over the summer. 

New Richmond College was destroyed in June related to a gas leak. In a meeting on Friday, university officials involved in response efforts provided a timeline review from the immediate aftermath to students returning for the fall semester.

MSU police chief Jamie Herring detailed his department’s involvement and said what normally takes an hour to coordinate happened in 12 minutes. Vice President of University Advancement Adrienne King said news went worldwide with more than 650 news articles in the first day and a reach of more than 600 million people in the 10 days following the incident. Vice President of Student Affairs Don Robertson described student safety and counseling resources. 

President Bob Davies thanked individuals involved. Board Chair Steve Williams said a crisis is a test for leaders coming together as a team and commended efforts.

Video of the Board of Regents Review(Note: Discussion about Richmond is near the beginning of the meeting. Video might not be available until later Friday evening.)

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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