Alumnus honors parents through endowed IST scholarship

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Colin Murphy had dreamed of attending Penn State since he was 9 years old, and with the help of his parents, that dream came true. Now the class of 2003 alumnus is paying tribute to his parents for their support. Murphy recently made a commitment to establish the Richard and Veronica Murphy Dean’s Advisory Board Matching Scholarship in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) in honor of his mother and in memory of his father.

The endowment was built on Murphy’s generosity and a matching commitment from the IST Dean’s Advisory Board Matching Scholarship Program, a fund financially supported by members of the board that enables donors to double the impact of their gifts. The total initial value of the endowment is $50,000.

“My father, Richard, earned a degree in petroleum engineering from Penn State in 1962,” Murphy said. “He was a huge supporter of the University his entire life. Penn State was a big part of his identity.”

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Murphy said he didn’t have many opportunities to visit Penn State but knew he wanted to attend. He enrolled in 1999, joining the first class of what was then called the Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology. 

“Financially speaking, it wasn’t easy for me to get to Penn State,” he said. “It required financial aid and loans. And it required help from my dad, who — along with my mother, Veronica — made my dream a reality.”

At Penn State, Murphy majored in IST and minored in business logistics and history. He was a Lion Ambassador, a member of the Skull and Bones Society and a four-year starting pitcher for the Penn State Club Baseball team. He also worked throughout his tenure as an undergraduate student — at Domino’s Pizza, as a technical support analyst in East Halls and as an academic assistant for the football team.

Following his 2003 graduation, Murphy began a career as a consultant, first at Deloitte Consulting and then at Oliver Wyman. He earned an MBA in strategic management and a master of public administration (MPA) in international affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, and worked as a corporate strategist at the Boeing Company, CA Technologies (now Broadcom), and Unisys Corporation.

Murphy moved into operations and management, first with CA Technologies and then with Integral Ad Science. Today, he is the global vice president of customer success and support at BMC Software, where he leads a team of more than 800 professionals across 20 countries.  

Murphy said his Penn State IST education was a “significant jump starter" for his career, teaching him the importance of group work and problem-based learning.

“Collaboration was drilled into our ways of working in our classes,” he said, "and problem-based learning taught me that it’s okay to be uncomfortable and not know the answer to problems. As long as you know how to structure the problem and can apply a logical process to it, you will advance. I have taken this concept to heart, and it’s been a major differentiator for me as a professional and a leader.”

Murphy met Marisa, his wife and “absolute best friend in life,” while in graduate school. They reside in Weston, Connecticut, with their daughters, 7-year-old Temperance and 2-year-old Hannah. Murphy said he likes to stay active by cycling and playing basketball and baseball. He also enjoys history, politics and true crime genre stories.

Murphy is a current member of the IST Alumni Society Board and will serve as board president next year. He said he is grateful for the opportunity to support the next generation of IST professionals.

“This endowment is important to me because I know it’s not easy to find the financial resources to do what you need to do,” Murphy said. “It’s also really important because Penn State was such a huge part of my dad’s life. I am extremely grateful to him and my mother.”

Gifts like the Richard and Veronica Murphy Dean’s Advisory Board Matching Scholarship advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients, and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.