Joseph P. McMurray, '30
President of Queens College,
1912-2001
Joseph P. McMurray, Public Servant, Ex-College President;
by Collin Nash. Newsday. Long Island, N.Y.
Jun 5, 2001. pg. A.45
(Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001)
Joseph P. McMurray was hard of hearing and blind in one eye since kindergarten. But before he died Thursday at Long Beach Hospital of congestive heart failure, the Atlantic Beach resident cleared those hurdles and others, becoming an economist in Washington during the late 1930s, head of housing agencies for the city and state, and president of Queens College during a time of campus unrest in the 1960s. McMurray, 89, was buried yesterday at St. Mary Star of the Sea Cemetery in Lawrence.
McMurray was a devoted public servant and father, said Kevin McMurray of Brewster, N.Y., one of six children. "He was a very intelligent, generous, supportive man who was totally dedicated to public service."
Starting in the late 1930s as a civil service statistician and economist, McMurray worked for a number of federal agencies including the National Resources Planning Board, the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As the state's top housing official, McMurray declared that more than 40,000 Nassau residents lived in substandard homes and that immediate action was necessary to stop the spread of slums. Antiquated planning measures should be replaced by a program aimed at making sure past mistakes are not repeated, McMurray said in early 1957.
McMurray assumed the presidency of Queens College in 1965, a turbulent time on American college campuses. At one point, McMurray ordered the closing of all classes on the campus, at Kissena Boulevard and the Long Island Expressway. The measure was in response to more than 700 black and Puerto Rican student demonstrators who staged sit-ins in the registrar's office and cafeteria. The student coalition was protesting plans to merge into the regular college operations a program that allowed students from working poor families to enter the college with lower grades.
McMurray was born in the Fordham area of the Bronx. As a teen, he moved with his family to Queens Village. He attended Jamaica High School. During the summers he worked as a copy boy for the Wall Street News, which later was acquired by The Wall Street Journal. McMurray graduated from Brooklyn College in 1936 with an associate's degree in economics. He did graduate work in economics under a scholarship from the New School for Social Research, which was renamed the New School University.
His first stint as academic leader came in 1959 when, as the first president of Queensboro Community College, he began work selecting its Bayside site and recruiting faculty. Just over two years later, he returned to Washington where he chaired the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. A five-year stint at Queens College until 1970 was followed by another five-year reign as head of the College of New Rochelle.
The following note and the image above have been quoted from a College of New Rochelle web site: The College of New Rochelle Centennial Index (of Presidents)
Joseph McMurray was born March 4, 1912 in New York City. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brooklyn College, he pursued higher education in economics at the New School. Previous to his entry into college administration, McMurray was a director and economic consultant on several New York City, State, and national committees and Departments as well as an economic consultant abroad. In 1965 he became President of Queens College having previously served as president of Queensborough Community College.
McMurray was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, and served as a member of the College of New Rochelle board of Trustees during the 1960’s. Upon assuming the Presidency in 1970, he faced a critical financial situation and succeeded in lowering the College’s deficit somewhat. McMurray encouraged the establishment of the School of New Resources which was in the planning stages during his tenure. He was the first lay President of CNR. Joseph McMurray died on May 31, 2001. He was recalled as having left a significant mark as educator, businessman, citizen, and friend.
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