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 scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
City University of New York
The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) 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 ...
.
Early life and education
Murphy was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, the son of Doris and Joseph Murphy, a labor organizer."CUNY Chancellor Murphy to keynote Commencement" /ref> He learned to speak
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...
, and then attended and received his bachelor's degree in philosophy with honors from Olivet College in 1955. Murphy worked towards a master's degree at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
, and received a master's degree in 1959 and his doctorate in 1961 from
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
political scientist
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, 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 of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...
, and in Ethiopia) and Job Corps. 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 for six years, beginning in 1971. He was then the seventh President of Bennington College 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, pronounced , ) 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 ...
(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. He also served as a member of the board of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Global Project from 1992, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research 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 now at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, 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.