Former UD provost establishes endowed physics professorship

As his retirement gift to the University, Richard B. Murray, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, and his wife, Clella, have helped establish an endowed professorship in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

At its December meeting, the University Board of Trustees passed a resolution "in honor of Prof. Murray's distinguished service to the University of Delaware and in appreciation of his generosity" and created the Richard B. Murray Chair in Physics and Astronomy.

Murray first came to the University as a visiting professor in 1962-63, joining the faculty in 1966. He retired last December.

"The University of Delaware has grown tremendously in stature over the years and I am very positive about the future," Murray said. "There are outstanding research programs throughout the University, which also importantly put an emphasis on undergraduate teaching."

Murray said the University has been an "important part of my life" and that he began to think about the possibility of an endowed professorship in physics and astronomy about a year ago, working with President David P. Roselle to bring the plan to fruition.

"The Department of Physics and Astronomy is known nationally and internationally and the faculty is richly deserving of recognition for outstanding progress in research and for developing innovative teaching methods," Murray said. "I have a high regard for my colleagues and wanted to contribute to the department's future in a meaningful way."

"It is especially gratifying when one of our own who has had such a long and distinguished career with the University makes a gift of this magnitude and generosity," President David P. Roselle said. "We are grateful to Dick and Clella Murray for this tangible vote of confidence in the University's future."

Provost Mel Schiavelli said, "It is fitting that this new, endowed professorship in physics and astronomy, made possible by Dick and Clella's significant donation to the University, be named to honor Dick Murray's many academic and administrative contributions to the prominence and progress of the University of Delaware."

A graduate of Emory University, with a master's degree from Ohio State University and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Murray was associated with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for several years.

His research was originally in the field of experimental nuclear physics and later condensed matter physics.

During his tenure at the University, he served in a variety of positions. He was physics and astronomy chairperson in 1975-76 and associate provost for graduate studies from 1979-1988, at which time he was a member of the executive committee of the Northeast Association of Graduate Schools. Murray served twice as provost from 1988-1991 and in 1993-94.

A fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Murray has served on the boards of directors of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Foundation, the Southeastern Universities Research Association; DIMER (Delaware Institute for Medical Education and Research), the University of Delaware Press and Sanford School. He has been president of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, the honorary physics fraternity, on campus. Dick and Clella Murray live in Newark.

--Sue Moncure

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