John Edward Murray Jr. (December 20, 1932 – February 11, 2015) was a chancellor and a professor of law at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, United States. He was a former dean of the

University of Pittsburgh School of Law The University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) was founded in 1895. It became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900. Its primary home facility is the Barco Law Building. The school offers four degrees: Master ...

and the

Villanova University School of Law Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associati ...

, as well as a former president of Duquesne University.

Duquesne presidency

Murray was president of Duquesne University from 1988 to 2001, serving what the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' referred to as an "extraordinary tenure" that set "a standard of excellence and achievement that is truly remarkable and may prove hard to equal." During his administration, Duquesne grew from a small, financially distressed Catholic university to a major research institution with over 10,000 students, a significant endowment, and numerous new buildings and facilities.

Scholarly career

Murray wrote a

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

on contracts and sales, ''Murray on Contracts'' (), which is used by law students and practicing attorneys across America and has been cited in opinions by courts in numerous jurisdictions, including the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. He also was the principal author of the supplements for the landmark multiple-volume treatise ''Corbin on Contracts'' (). In addition, he wrote 19 books and numerous law-review articles on the law of contracts and sales. In 1992, he teamed with a former law student, Jon Hogue, to practice law and was a named principal and consulting partner in the Pittsburgh

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Murray, Hogue and Lannis. He was appointed in 2004 as a representative to the Oversight Authority for the City of Pittsburgh by

Pennsylvania Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforc ...

Edward Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

. Murray received the Distinguished Lifetime Service Award at the Eighth Annual International Conference on Contracts in Fort Worth in February, 2013.

Personal life

A native of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Murray most recently lived in

. He died of a heart attack in February 2015, aged 82. He is survived by four children, six grandchildren, and his second wife, Marjorie Smuts.

References

External links

Profile for Murray, Hogue and Lannis

Duquesne University faculty listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, John E. Jr. Presidents of Duquesne University 1932 births 2015 deaths Catholic University of America alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Pennsylvania lawyers Duquesne University faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty Educators from Philadelphia 20th-century American lawyers