McMurran Society 2005 Members

In Memoriam

McMurran Reception 2005

The Joseph McMurran Society

The Joseph P. McMurran Society was established to honor those who wish to provide for the future of Shepherd University with a planned gift or a bequest. The Society provides recognition of those who have made such plans and hosts events to honor them as well as keep them informed as to the progress the school is making and its plans for the future.

The McMurran legacy . . .
In September 1871, Joseph McMurran and fellow Jefferson County citizens created a college to serve the education needs of eastern West Virginia and the surrounding region. Shepherdstown native Rezin Shepherd donated to the group a building he owned that had served as the county courthouse.

Today, The Joseph McMurran Society recognizes the high standards of college support set by the first president of Shepherd College. His standards of academic excellence in the early years of the College often required that he use his personal wealth to ensure that students had the resources necessary to receive a quality education. President McMurran more that once in his ten-year presidency had to "beg" the state legislature for funds to build the library, pay the faculty, and often the heating bills.

In 1879, Henry Shepherd, one of the College trustees, conducted the first private fund raising campaign for the College, soliciting gifts from Shepherdstown businessmen. He matched their gifts with $500 from his pocket to keep the College open.

Mr. Shepherd and President McMurran, through their dedication to the financial survival of the College, began a tradition of private support that carries on today by The Joseph McMurran Society.