Murphy To Direct MnSCU Partnership Development

To bring Minnesota's academic and business communities closer together, Michael P. Murphy, former director of the University of St. Thomas Minneapolis Campus, has joined Minnesota State Colleges and Universities as an associate vice chancellor.

Murphy, who began his new position July 1, is in charge of partnership development and innovation for the 36 MnSCU institutions. He also will direct the development of a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Corporate University, a model program involving industry and education.

"Innovations in technology have brought enormous changes to higher education," said Morris J. Anderson, chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. "Mike Murphy has the background and the expertise to keep us current and competitive as we take advantage of opportunities to bring the academic and business communities together."

Part of Murphy's duties will be overseeing the development of MnSCU's Targeted Industry Partnership Project and the Leveraged Equipment Funding Initiative. Both programs align training programs with industry needs.

"Nearly everyone has heard about the worker shortage in key sectors, but just as important is how workers already in place will have access to what is coming to be called 'perpetual learning'," said Murphy. "For workers today and in the future, skill building and the learning surrounding it must be continuous. A person's ability to learn independently is critical in that setting."

Murphy has a PhD from the University of Minnesota, a master's degree from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y.

Before joining MnSCU, he worked at the University of St. Thomas for 12 years. He also served as academic dean at the College of St. Catherine in the mid-1980s.