Midway University and Midway have grown closer in recent years, but that hasn't quite extended to students

By Akhira Umar

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway University has been around nearly as long as the town that it calls home. Despite their long-standing affiliation, the town and the university are not as intertwined as one might think.

Originally founded as the Kentucky Female Orphan School in 1847, Midway University came into existence shortly after the town’s establishment in 1835 and soon after its incorporation in 1846. The town has kept much of its original charm with quiet neighborhoods and quaint shops but has seen many changes in its businesses, organizations and downtown streetscape.

The university has seen its fair share of change as well, the most notable being its decision to go co-ed in the fall of 2016 to “remain relevant” and “financially viable.” In fall 2019, men made up 39 percent of daytime enrollment. The total enrollment of 1,702 also includes evening and online undergraduates, and graduate students.

Among the 643 daytime undergraduates, 373 lived on campus, said Ellen Gregory, the university’s vice president of marketing and communications.

These daytime students also came from all walks of life, just like the tourists who stop in town. Kentucky natives account for about 70 percent of students, while about 15 percent come from other states and the rest form foreign countries.

The university and Northside Elementary School accounted for nearly
1/3 of city occupational tax of $719,378. (City of Midway chart, adapted)

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the university is also responsible for providing the city with over $100,000 a year in payroll taxes. The school is the second largest job provider in town, behind Lakeshore Learning Materials and ahead of American Howa Kentucky Inc.

With such big numbers in a town with a population of fewer than 1,700, one might think it would greatly affect the dynamics of Midway as a whole. But these two entities, the town and the university, long followed different orbits. More recently, they have learned to change for the better together.

Prior to Dr. John P. Marsden becoming the university’s tenth president in 2013, the relationship between the town and school was rocky, according to some city officials. However, in the past six years, this relationship has more than turned itself around.

“I think with a new administration in there, Dr. Marsden’s administration, we were really able to kinda form new bonds,” Vandegrift said. ”They were the ones that really began reaching out to us as a city.”

Vandegrift was on the City Council when Marsden arrived, and was elected mayor the following year. “I think Dr. Marsden and his leadership team have taken on a lot of great initiatives and they’ve included us in all of them,” he said. “They’re also quick to include us and we’re very happy to be included and to participate.”

Some of these initiatives include a 15 percent tuition discount for Midway residents, a decision made in August 2018, and the $30,000 in softball-field renovations that the city and school partnered for in 2017. The university has helped sponsor and participate in several local events like the Midway Fall Festival and Midsummer Nights in Midway.

Sara Hicks, then the president of Midway Renaissance,
and Midway University President John Marsden signed
the contract to move Renaissance's Francisco's Farm
Arts Festival back to the campus. (2013 photo)

One of the best ways the school strengthened connections with the town was bringing the Francisco’s Farm Art Festival back to the campus in 2014. The festival, which began in 2003, is the largest event on which the town collaborates with the university. It is an award-winning, nationally recognized event, drawing thousands of visitors.

When it moved to Equus Run Vineyards three miles east of town in 2011 and remained there for three years, the Midway community felt disconnected to one of its biggest events. When the festival returned to the university, a location many said was more fitting, the community was grateful.

Gregory said the open lines of communication between the leaderships of the town and the school have made for a great relationship. “We see a strong city as good for the university, and we think vice versa—a strong university is good for the city.”

This community involvement has made some residents like librarian Stacy Thurman, who was elected to the City Council last year, even more hopeful about the city’s future. Having moved to Midway 10 years ago, she said one of the things she liked about the town was that people knew each other and did things together, making for a good sense of community.

“It wasn’t until recently that I felt like the university has had more of a presence in town,” Thurman said. “I enjoy seeing the students out and about, but I don’t think that has always been the case. I think for a long time, at least from my perspective, the university was its own little entity, then there was the town, and there wasn’t a whole lot of action.”

Although the university is more involved in community events, many in Midway still wish the students had a stronger presence in the town. The on-campus student population makes up about 20 percent of the university’s enrollment and accounts for nearly 20 percent of Midway’s residential population, yet some residents and business workers say students are rarely seen in town.

Isaac Hughes, a long-time resident of Zion Hill, a largely African American community southeast of Midway, spent much time at the school to watch games or go to parties in the 1960s, even with the racial divide and the school’s population being all women. He continues to visit the university now for its affordable, tasty meals, and says the town and university seem to exist separately.

“It’s almost like you got two separate entities, two separate towns. There’s the university, then there’s the Midway area,” he said, adding that students may have “felt like there was no connection or we didn’t really connect with you all as a community. So, I think there’s a lot that can be gained by both if there’s a connection.”

Cortney Neikirk, president of the Midway Business Association, contrasted Midway and its university with Richmond and Eastern Kentucky University. Richmond’s population is around 35,000 and EKU’s enrollment last year was estimated at 16,612. Such a large school greatly affects traffic, business and everyday life during the school year, but Midway University’s small size does not have that same effect on Midway, she said

Francisco's Farm is held in May, soon after commencement.

“We do not, as residents, notice the university being there … It’s actually super peaceful,” Neikirk said. “The university does not, technically, affect us … It’s nice having them up there because we know we have a university, but it doesn’t filter down into the residential areas. It would be sad not to have the university, but as a resident, I don’t know that I would notice them being gone … It’s not like you have students everywhere.”

Justin Werner, manager of the Goose and Gander restaurant, thinks the lack of student involvement in town comes from a lack of awareness. “A lot of times I don’t think they even realize there’s a town here,” he said. In 2018, “We did an orientation welcoming … and a lot of the students that we talked to said, ‘I didn’t even know there was a Main Street. Where’s the restaurants? Where are these things?’ So, I think that that’s where we fall short is that we don’t get out to the students enough to know what’s going on and, you know, what’s down here.”

This is not to say that the students are completely detached from the town. Everyone interviewed for this story reported nothing but positive interactions with students -- if they had any interactions at all. The students do volunteer at places like Northside Elementary, The Homeplace at Midway and the Woodford County Library. They also visit businesses downtown, just not as often as some people may like or expect.

Gregory said students low profile in town stems from how busy they are with classes, work and sports. But many students, despite liking Midway as a town, said there aren’t enough local options that appeal to them. Examples:

Junior Kwon Evans goes off campus three or four times a week, usually to Lexington, for food and entertainment. Senior Kaleb Britt leaves campus just about every day for his preferred fast food chains, like Raising Cane’s and Taco Bell. Sophomore Jill Enix leaves campus two to five times a week for Frankfort or Georgetown for fast food, shopping and movie theaters. Junior Ally Callahan goes to Versailles or Georgetown just about every day for the same reasons.

All these students lived on campus when they were interviewed last spring, and all of them said they like Midway, the supportive university facility, and the town’s friendly residents. However, if the town had more amenities tailored for them, like cheaper food and more entertainment, they might not leave as often.

“I love the fact that Midway is small, and it is very close to larger cities such as Lexington and Frankfort. I love the Kentucky scenery as well. The small downtown area is a very cute area as well,” Callahan said before adding her critique. “There are only two cheap, chain fast food restaurants here. I think if I could change that and add a couple more options for college students so it would be more convenient than driving 20 minutes to the nearest place, I would.”

The same reasons students living on campus leave town so often are the same reasons other students chose to live off campus. Sophomore Clayton Parks, who lives in Lexington, said Midway just can’t compare to all the things Lexington can offer. Senior Monica Martinez said not only is there much more to do in Lexington, but it’s also more affordable, something that senior Nathan Dodge agreed with.

Affordability is an issue many recognize in Midway. Some businesses like Goose and Gander try to combat this obstacle for students by offering them a 10 percent discount. Railroad Drug and Old Time Soda Fountain hosts a “Milkshake Mission” during finals where students can use vouchers for free milkshakes.

For students who want to live off-campus, Midway has few townhouses or apartments, let alone within a college-friendly budget. But as the university grows, so must housing options. The university recently converted Pinkerton Hall back into a dormitory to meet the student housing demand. While students may not mind commuting for food and entertainment, some like the convenience of living on campus when it comes to getting to classes, practices and games.

Vandegrift has appointed an Affordable Housing Task Force, headed by Thurman, to explore the lack of affordable housing.

The consensus from those interviewed for this story, whether they see plenty of student involvement with the community or not, is that they would always welcome more. That would undoubtedly help the local economy, and the interviewees said it would be nice to see new faces enjoying a historic town.

“I think we would like them to do more, and I don’t mean that as a way to demean what they’re already doing,” Vandegrift said. “I would say it almost as a challenge.”

He put his challenge this way: “We would like to see you all get more involved because, you know, people their age see the world in a really beautiful way and they’ve not been as hardened as the rest of us have yet. And I think we all need to be reminded of that. Experience is vital and all of us learn more, but I think we have to be reminded of the young person in all of us, that we were once like that and we wanted to change the whole world and that it’s good to want to do that. So, I think that that could be a great benefit to all of us and I think that’s true of any college town.”

The combination of having young adults of different experiences from all over the state, country and world make the university a breeding ground for growth. Midway is already a welcoming town thanks to its tourism. But to some, the opportunities the university can bring to town are unmatched and overdue.

Hughes said he wants to see the university more involved in “the way the town and the community is being shaped. With their intellect and their knowledge, it can help change some things. And there’s a lot of change that needs to be made that we, as a community, think don’t need to be changed, but in order for us to keep growing I think we’re gonna have to change into a more positive direction. So maybe we can help each other with that.”