Announcement Concerning Maureen Murphy, Vice President for Finance and Administration

Dear Emerson Community,

As many of you know, Maureen Murphy, Vice President for Finance and Administration, has faced significant health issues in the last several months. As a result, she has decided that she will not return to Emerson College, effective immediately, so she might attend to her medical challenges and spend time with her family.

Maureen oversees the financial, physical and human resources of Emerson College. Several departments report to her:

(1) Financial affairs, which includes budget and planning, the controller’s office, and treasury services;
(2) Financial Business Services, which includes payroll, accounts payable, purchasing, and reporting;
(3) Facilities and Campus Services, which includes contract services, dining, print and copy, property management of leased properties, and Boston construction services; and,
(4) Human Resources, which includes employment and employee relations, compensation and benefits and staff development.

She has managed complex and expensive construction projects in Boston and Los Angeles. Her financing acumen is unrivaled.

She also serves as the liaison to the Board of Trustees’ Finance, Investment, Facilities and Audit Committees.She is an active and recognized leader in the higher education community, serving, among many assignments, as the Treasurer and Board member of the Eastern Associate of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Consortium, which is a vital resource to Boston-area higher education institutions as each pursues its operational plans.  She was awarded EACUBO’s Distinguished Service Award at its October 2018 annual meeting. Her grasp of the complex areas she oversees is extraordinary and, most important, she has the happy knack of turning challenges into opportunities for the College. Under her leadership, Emerson has been recognized nationally for its financial sustainability, strong revenue growth, and fiscal management.

As you can see, her administrative responsibilities and influences are wide and varied. There is no area in the College that she does not affect directly or indirectly. Most important, she manages these many diverse areas with care, intelligence and compassion, recognizing that the true purpose of her expansive reach is to serve the talented and diverse people who make up our commonwealth of learning.She has been a remarkable and uncommon strategic partner with me, and whatever achievements we have made in the last several years would not have been possible without her leadership, good advice and wise counsel. I will very much miss working with her.

The Emerson Board of Trustees and I will begin the process of identifying a pool of candidates from which we will select the next vice president. Beginning immediately, I will begin the process to identify an interim vice president to support the excellent work of Rob Butler, Associate Vice President for Finance, Arthur Mombourquette, Senior Associate Vice President, Real Estate, Shari Stier, Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer and Loretta Bemis, Associate Vice President for Financial Business Services, all of whom have filled in ably during Maureen’s absence.

She has asked me, with her characteristic graciousness and understatement, to send to you her gratitude for having served our community – brilliantly, I might add – and she wishes us the very best.

At a later date, there will be an opportunity for us to celebrate Maureen’s commitment to the College. In the meantime, please join me in expressing our appreciation for Maureen’s splendid, profound and enduring work at Emerson.

Sincerely,
Lee Pelton