Murphy Oil Donates $10M for South Arkansas College Dorm, Baseball Field

A Google Street View image of the South Arkansas College campus in El Dorado (© Google)

Murphy Oil Co. has donated $10 million to South Arkansas College in El Dorado to build a new student residence hall and baseball stadium, the school announced.

Both parts of the project will be located on the school’s West Campus, which connects to downtown El Dorado. The proposed dormitory is expected to be built in an area south of the El Dorado Conference Center along West Avenue, which now has the college’s maintenance building, as well as a vacant lot.

The facility likely would open with housing space for about 100 students, with room for later expansion, the college said in a news release.

The proposed baseball stadium would be located at the southwest corner of Hillsboro Street and West Avenue, another space that’s currently vacant.

The college said the target date to open the facilities is fall 2026. Land for the projects has been purchased.

“In order to fulfill our mission and provide educational opportunities to our community, the college needs to grow, Stephanie Tully-Dartez, said in a statement. “Having intercollegiate athletics on our campus has brought new energy and new students. It makes sense to add to our existing athletic facilities as we add to our academic offerings.

“There has been an interest in and a need for student housing at SouthArk for many years, but settling on the right approach and finding the funding anchor has taken time.”

Tully-Dartez said funding sources beyond the Murphy Oil gift, both private and public, will be sought to help complete financing for the projects. The collage has launched a capital campaign that includes multiple opportunities for support, including naming rights for portions of the project.

Murphy Oil moved its headquarters to Houston a few years ago after more than 70 years in El Dorado, but has continued to support higher education in the south Arkansas city. In addition to charitable gifts, it continued to fund the El Dorado Promise, a program it founded in 2007 to pay the college tuition — up to the highest amount charged by an Arkansas public university — of every college-bound graduate of the El Dorado Public School District.

“We are extremely pleased to provide the financial means for South Arkansas College to enhance and expand its facilities for the betterment of its students and the community,” Roger W. Jenkins, CEO of Murphy Oil, said in a statement. “We believe that funding these key capital projects is a worthy investment that will generate significant returns for SouthArk and El Dorado for many years to come.”