The University of Maine at Fort Kent is pleased to announce that retiring Vice President of Administration, John Murphy, will be awarded the Distinguished Service Award at UMFK’s 135th commencement ceremony on May 13, 2017. This award is given to individuals who have gone above and beyond in service to UMFK.
John attended UMFK from 1972 to 1975, earning an associate’s degree. He is a former UMFK student-athlete that played for the Bengal’s soccer team for three years. He went on to earn a Bachelor of University Studies degree in December 1980 from UMFK. In 2006, Murphy received the selection as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Athletic Director of the Year for the Sunrise Athletic Conference. In 2015, he was inducted in the UMFK Athletic Hall of Fame.
John has quietly bridged the gap of time and leadership with his keen intelligence and local experience by stepping up to the plate at UMFK in many ways. In the recent past, University of Maine System Chancellor James H. Page appointed John as interim president of UMFK prior to President Short’s arrival. The Chancellor and the Board of Trustees (BOT) agreed that Murphy understood the need for changes at the system level and had a clear understanding of the BOT’s concerns and directives. At the same time, the campus wanted to keep the positive momentum going with their own changes, including the implementation of the new five-year strategic plan while they conducted a search for a President.
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