Centennial exhibit's treasures highlight MSU Texas' history of learning

Kathy Floyd
·3 min read

With Midwestern State University marking its centennial, Tracee Robertson, director of the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas, wondered what the museum could do to be part of the celebration.

She wanted to display items that show the university’s academics and the wide range of learning that has taken place through the past 100 years and is happening now.

“When you learn about the objects that a university has, you learn more about the university’s story and perhaps feel more a part of it,” Robertson said.

With the help of undergraduate student Callie Bishop, Robertson and museum staff gathered pieces of collections from the Moffett Library and the individual colleges. The exhibition, “Belong, Connect, Discover: 100 Years of MSU Texas Treasures,” was created.

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It is on display through Oct. 1 at the museum at 2 Eureka Circle from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Extended hours are until 7 p.m. Thursdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Call the museum at 940-397-8900 for more information.

The exhibition is organized along a timeline with the diverse objects showing the broad scope of resources that MSU Texas has: geological specimens from the Kimbell School of Geosciences, X-ray equipment dating from 1900 through 1970 from The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences Collection, art from the Ralph and Juanita Harvey School of Visual Arts and specimens from the McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering’s Department of Biology mammal collection.

Moffett Library has loaned centuries-old illuminated manuscript pages from the Nolan A. Moore III Heritage of Print Collection. Also from Moffett are maps from the Forrest D. Monahan Collection.

The former MSU Texas history professor collected more than 500 railroad maps, guides, photographs, journals and books about the American railroad system.

He was president of the Wichita Railroad Museum and was an expert on the North Texas and Oklahoma railroad system, which was instrumental in the development of Wichita Falls.

Photos of school children in Wichita Falls, New Mexico and Europe from the 1980s by artist Dick Hall once lined the walls of the Ferguson Building when it was home to the Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education.

These candid photos, now part of the museum’s collection, capture moments where childhood and education overlap.

Museum collections highlighted are the Caldecott Collection, the quilt collection, and the C.A. Fuhs Collection of photographs. Fuhs’ photos show the boom town of Wichita Falls during the 1920s.

A Midwestern Aggies jacket from the 1950s reminds viewers of the area’s rich agricultural history.

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Grants from the Fain Foundation, Bryant Edwards Foundation and the J.S. Bridwell Foundation helped the museum compensate the undergraduate student.

Robertson said that seeing the objects is intended to strike a chord with viewers.

“That’s the purpose, to develop a sense of belonging by learning the stories that these objects tell," she said.

"The University’s collections tell the story of a place through time, of the people and milestones that make a place vibrant. They tell the story of a university where you also belong, contribute and have opportunity to shape the story for the future," she said.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will present “30 Minutes with the Expert” at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 1:30 p.m. Saturdays in September with university personnel discussing aspects of the exhibition.

  • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1: Associate Professor of Biology Ray Willis.

  • 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3: Professor of Biology William Cook.

  • 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10: Chair and Prothro Distinguished Associate Professor of Geological Sciences Jonathan Price.

  • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15: Special Collections Librarian Alissa Russell.

  • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24: Professor of Radiological Sciences Beth Veale.

  • 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1: WFMA at MSU Texas Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Danny Bills.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls Museum of Art centennial exhibit: learning at MSU Texas