Grand Alumnae

Nancy Tyler Demartra

(First Black student to attend full-time and graduate, 1961)

Nancy Tyler Demartra was born in Hickory, Kentucky in 1939 to parents Ocala and Jewel Tyler. Growing up, Demartra was primarily taught by her mother, who was a homemaker and teacher. She attended segregated Black-only schools during the late stage of the Jim Crow era. After graduating high school, Demartra enrolled at Murray State College as the very first Black student to attend full-time. [Mary Ford Holland integrated Murray State in the summer of 1955, but she was a working teacher and part-time student.] Demartra graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education (K-6). Demartra taught in Paducah as well as in Louisville, incorporating many life lessons into her teaching and becoming a great inspiration to many students. Demartra was a dedicated activist for equal rights, a member of the Association of the Study of African American Life and History (ASLAH), a member of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racial and Political Oppression, and a member of the Rite of Passage Program, which taught Black History to youth. She was also inducted into the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights Hall of Fame in 2010. Demartra was a lifelong learner and an incredibly hard worker whose success inspired many others to advocate for change as well.

Jerry Sue Pritchett Thornton

(Murray State Student, 1966-1969)

Jerry Sue Thornton (née Pritchett) was a student at Murray State University from 1966 - 1969, eventually becoming a notable entrepreneur and philanthropist. At Murray State, Thornton was on the Woods Hall Council from 1967-1969 while also contributing to the Sock and Buskin Club. In 1969, Thornton was elected by her peers as Miss Murray State University, the first Black student to earn this honor. She later graduated with a Bachelors in English and Speech. In 1970, Thornton earned her Masters in Communications at Murray State, then went on to receive her PhD in Educational Administration in 1983 from the University of Texas. Thornton became a published author in 1977 with her work, Urban Student: Being Your Best At College And In Life. In 1993, Thornton became the first female president of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland, Ohio, and was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999. To give back to Murray State, Thornton spent one term on the Board of Regents. She also endowed the Jerry Sue and John Barlow Pritchett Minority Scholarship in 2008, in honor of her brother. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, an influential magazine at the time, honored Thornton by awarding her a place in their "Top 25 Women in Higher Education" in 2013. The Institutional Advancement Building at Tri-C was also renamed the Jerry Sue Thornton Center after her retirement the same year. Thornton was awarded the 2014 American Association of Community Colleges’ Community College Leadership Award, the American Council on Education Fellows’ Mentor of the Year Award, the Diverse Champions Award by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and the 2014 Dr. Martin Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award for outstanding achievements. In 2016, Thornton was awarded Murray State University’s Diversity LifeTime Achievement Award, as well as an honorary doctorate from the university. Thornton has already been awarded four other honorary doctorates from the College of St. Catherine, Youngstown State University, Baldwin Wallace University, and Cleveland State University. In 2018, Thornton received the City of Cleveland’s Heritage Award, as well as the Del deWindt Award from First Tee of Cleveland. Thornton received the Presidential Legacy Award from Tri-C in 2023, being the college’s longest running President.