Tori murden mcclure biography channel

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - 25 years after Tori Murden McClure became the first woman and first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, a piece of her amazing journey is now a permanent part of the Frazier History Museum.

The boat she used to make the 3,300 mile transatlantic journey has been on loan to the museum since 2020.

On Dec. 3, 1999, Murden McClure made history by stepping on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe, completing her grueling 81-day journey.

The boat, the American Pearl, is 23 feet long, four feet high and six feet wide.

“[The boat] brings back a lot of fond memories of people and places, and all the folks that helped make that journey happen,” Murden McClure said.

Along with the boat, Murden McClure donated other objects from her journey, including food, cookware, computers, cameras, a cassette player and emergency kit she used while on the journey.

The American Pearl has been on loan to the Frazier Museum since September 2020, and became a permanent part of the museum Dec. 3, 2024.

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Tori Murden McClure Tori is the President of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. She is best known as the first woman and first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She rowed a twenty-three foot boat alone and without physical support a distance of more than 3,300 miles. Tori was one of two women and six Americans who were the first women and first Americans to travel over land to the geographic South Pole, skiing 750 miles from the ice shelf to the pole. An avid mountaineer, Tori has climbed on several continents and she was the first woman to climb Lewis Nunatuck summit in Antarctica. She is an Emergency Medical Technician in both urban and wilderness areas. She is also a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School semester courses in Alaska and Kenya. Tori earned her A.B. from Smith College, a Masters in Divinity from Harvard University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University. She was admitted to the practice of law in 1995 and is a lawyer in good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association. Professionally, Tori has worked as Chaplain at Boston City Hospital, the executive director of a shelter for homeless women, as a public policy assistant for the Mayor of Louisville, and she worked for Muhammad Ali to assist with early efforts to create the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. Tori serves on the Board of Trustees for Smith College and for the National Outdoor Leadership School. Tori is the recipient of multiple international honors. Thor Heyerdahl presented her with the Peter Byrd Trophy; Tori was the first woman to be honored with this award. In Paris she was recognized along with Lance Armstrong by L'Academies des Sport for significant sporting achievement. At the Moscow International Festival of Mountaineering and Adventure Films, the French documentary "Beyond Limits - Tori Murden," took the prize for the "Best Fo

In addition to her degree from Smith, she holds a master’s from Harvard Divinity School, a law degree from the University of Louisville, and a graduate degree in writing from Spalding University. She has served as a chaplain at a Boston hospital and—in Louisville, Kentucky—as director of a women’s shelter, policy assistant in the mayor’s office, and head of development at the Muhammad Ali Center.

She is also a woman of many “firsts.” McClure was the first woman and first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, ski to the geographic South Pole, and climb the Lewis Nunatak in the Antarctic. Since 2010, McClure has served as president of Spalding University in Louisville, expanding the campus by 40% during her tenure. She is a vice chair and interim chair of the NCAA, the top governing body in collegiate athletics, and, from 2002 to 2010, sat on the Smith College Board of Trustees. 

Murden will receive the Smith College Medal during Rally Day, which will be celebrated on Feb. 23 beginning at 1:30 p.m EST. The event will be streamed on Smith College’s Facebook page. 

What is your proudest accomplishment?

For 13 years I have served as the president of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. Spalding is an under-resourced school located at the heart of the need in a gritty urban neighborhood in downtown Louisville. It is difficult work, but we have a splendid mission “to meet the needs of the times,” and our times have been needy. I am most proud of the work I do each day surrounded by a remarkable and compassionate team. My biggest claim to fame is not skiing to the South Pole or rowing alone across an ocean. I was the acting chair of the board of governors of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the start of the 2020 football season. Conference commissioners were losing their minds that a woman was at the head of the body that would decide whether football wou