The New England Board of Higher Education has chosen former Johnson State College President Barbara E. Murphy to receive the 2016 Eleanor M. McMahon Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Murphy retired in July 2015 after serving 14 years as president at the public liberal arts college in Johnson, Vermont. Prior to that, she was president of the Community College of Vermont, the state's only community college and, like JSC, a member of the Vermont State College system.
Shortly after assuming the presidency of JSC in 2001, Murphy established the donor-supported "President's Fund for Excellence in Teaching & Learning," which among other things supports scholarships for deserving students, distinguished guest scholars, faculty enrichment, and student travel and seminars. The fund awarded more than $200,000 to date.
During Murphy's presidency, JSC received a $1.8 million Title III grant focused on student success, launched an intensive program for first-year students, completed several capital projects, and significantly expanded its off-campus External Degree Program, which offers online courses and weekend-only classes in four Vermont communities. That program, too, has been recognized by NEBHE.
A published poet, Murphy is a former or current board member of Vermont CARES, an AIDS education and service program; the Vermont Alliance for Non-Profit Organizations; River Arts; the Lamoille Hunger Council; the Lamoille County Planning Commission; the Girl Scout Council of Vermont; and the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning. Her first collection of poetry, Almost Too Much, was published in April 2015 by Cervena Barva Press.
Murphy and her husband, Tom Garrett, live in Burlington.