MURRAY – Last Friday was Don Tharpe’s last meeting as a member and chair of the Murray State University Board of Regents, and it was quite the sendoff as many of his family members joined him to dedicate a lecture hall named in his honor.
A resident of Nicholasville, Tharpe was appointed to the board in 2017 by former Gov. Matt Bevin. In June 2022, his fellow board members elected him as chair, making him the first African-American to serve in the role, according to MSU. He will be succeeded by Leon Owens of Paducah, who was nominated and chosen by the board during the annual election of officers that took place at Tharpe’s final meeting.
A Mayfield native, Tharpe was the son of the late Rev. Cleo and Dorothy Tharpe and graduated from Mayfield High School in 1970. After working for West Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation and Hawkins Furniture Store during his high school years, he attended Murray State and earned both bachelor of science and master of science degrees in industrial education. He earned his doctorate in educational administration from Virginia Polytechnic & State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, according to MSU.
Tharpe worked in the field of association management for more than 30 years, serving as chief operations officer of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., president and CEO of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation and president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, MSU said. Before that, he served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Council on Foundations and executive director of the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). Before working for ASBO, Tharpe held several senior positions at the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), and he worked at the Missouri State Department of Education before his career in non-profit management, MSU said.
At around the midway point of Friday’s board meeting, the board and administration relocated to the School of Engineering to dedicate the Dr. Don I. Tharpe Lecture Hall. In addition to his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Adrienne Tharpe of Nashville, Tennessee, several of Tharpe’s siblings and extended family members attended the short ceremony.
Murray State President Bob Jackson said he first met Tharpe about 25 years ago in the quad during the dedication ceremony for the historical marker commemorating Mary Ford Holland as the first black student to attend the university. He said Tharpe was head of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation at the time and served as keynote speaker at that dedication. Jackson recognized the many relatives of Tharpe’s in the audience, and although not all of his sisters were able to attend, he took a moment to point out those present.
“Dr. Tharpe has a large family – has six sisters,” Jackson said. “He has shared over (the last) six years stories on each and every one of them; all good, all positive, how they babied him and took good care of him when he was a youngster and a student here at Murray State.”
Prior to the board taking a recess and riding a shuttle to the science complex, the board officially voted to accept the recommendation of the Committee on Naming Campus Facilities, Programs and Activities to name the lecture hall after Tharpe. Tharpe commented on how much he had been honored to serve on the board and lead it for the last year.
“Words cannot adequately express how honored I am today to receive this recognition,” he said. “It has been my honor to serve on this board in its centennial year, and I believe my services on the way have paid back what Murray State has given to me. I love Murray State and what Murray State has meant to me, what Murray State has meant to my family. It has changed my life in ways in which I could never express to you.”
At the dedication, Tharpe thanked the crowd and called attention to former School of Engineering Dean Ken Winters, whom he said introduced him to Linda. He referred to one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, comparing the narrator’s situation to his own when he graduated high school in Mayfield.
“In 1970, I had a decision to make,” he said. “Robert Frost in his poem, ‘The Road Not Taken,’ paints the picture of a traveler who has come to two roads that diverge into the woods. He was perplexed as to which road to take, but after much consternation, he made a choice. And after completing the journey, he states, ‘I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.’
“In the fall of 1970 I made the choice to attend Murray State University – a road not traveled by many young black men 53 years ago. But I took that road, and that has made all the difference in my life and in my career. Had I taken another road that day, this day would not have been possible. So on that fall day in 1970, Murray State University also took a road less traveled by offering me on the spot student financial aid.”
