Joseph Samson Murphy"Preparing Schools for the 1990s: An Essay Collection." /ref> (November 15, 1933 – January 17, 1998) was an American
political scientist
Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
and university administrator, who was President of
Queens College
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...
, President of
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
, and Chancellor of the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
.
Early life and education
Murphy was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.labor organizer."CUNY Chancellor Murphy to keynote Commencement" /ref> He learned to speak
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
from his mother, a
Polish Jew
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...
, and
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
from his father, an Irish
longshoreman
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
. Murphy graduated from
Weequahic High School
Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The school is operated by the Newar ...
in 1951.
He attended the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
, and then attended and received his bachelor's degree in philosophy with honors from
Olivet College
Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...
in 1955. Murphy worked towards a master's degree at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
, and received a master's degree in 1959 and his doctorate in 1961 from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
in philosophy and political theory. He was a recipient of the
Woodrow Wilson Fellowship
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...
.
Career
A
political scientist
Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
, Murphy was then an assistant professor at Brandeis, where he taught until 1965. He held various positions in the federal government, including in the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
(in
St. Croix
Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
, in the
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...
, and in Ethiopia) and
Job Corps
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24.
Mission and purpose
Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...
. He then became vice chancellor for higher education for the State of New Jersey and its 185,000 students in 1970, a position he held for one year.
Murphy next served as the fifth President of 28,000-student
Queens College
Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...
for six years, beginning in 1971. He was then the seventh President of
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
at 43 years of age, a position he held for six years.
Murphy was Chancellor of the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
(CUNY) from 1982 to 1990, when he resigned. CUNY at the time was the third-largest university in the United States, with over 180,000 students. ''The New York Times'' described him as being known “for his ability to combine a practical knowledge of politics with an enduring commitment to the poor and the working class.”
After his tenure as chancellor, he taught as University Professor of Political Science at the CUNY
Graduate Center
The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the C ...
. He also served as a member of the board of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Global Project from 1992, and the
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
YIVO (Yiddish: , ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. (The word ' ...
from 1993. He died in a car accident in Ethiopia on January 17, 1998, at the age of 64.
The Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, formerly at the
CUNY School of Professional Studies
The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is a public university and is part of the City University of New York (CUNY).
History
In June of 2003, Neil Kleiman, then-director of the Center for an Urban Future, addressed the Board of Tru ...
now at the
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (also known as CUNY SLU) is a public undergraduate, graduate, and professional school in New York City associated with the City University of New York system. Founded in 2018 as an outgrowth of the Jo ...
, was named after him. It was established in 1984 as a Queens College program offering courses and programs in labor and urban studies. It was re-established as a university-wide institute in 2005.
The Joseph S. Murphy Scholarship is named after him. It is a challenge-grant scholarship of up to $30,000 for undergraduate and graduate students entering the labor studies degree programs at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies.