Steve H. Murdock (June 2, 1948 – April 7, 2023) was an American sociologist and the former director of the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

. He held named professorships in sociology at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the Education in San Antonio, largest universi ...

and

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

. Murdock served as the first official Texas State Demographer.

Biography

Murdock was a graduate of

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

and he received a Ph.D. in sociology from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. He was a Regents Professor and Head of the Department of Rural Sociology at Texas A&M University. In 2001, Murdock became the first official demographer of the state of Texas. He was later the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and Organization Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. Murdock was nominated to serve as director of the United States Census Bureau in the summer of 2007 by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and he held the position from January 2008 until the change in presidential administrations in January 2009. He was the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Professor of Sociology at Rice University until retiring in 2019. Murdock died on April 7, 2023, at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdock, Steve H. 1948 births 2023 deaths American sociologists Directors of the United States Census Bureau North Dakota State University alumni University of Kentucky alumni Rice University faculty Texas A&M University faculty University of Texas at San Antonio faculty George W. Bush administration personnel