Beyond Academia

Dedicated is one word that describes Joseph Murray, associate dean of undergraduate studies at Boca Raton’s Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

When he moved from Ohio 10 years ago to join the FAU family, instead of finding a place to live around town, he moved into a freshman residence hall, bought a meal plan and quickly became part of university life.

“I would do it again in a second,” says Murray, 57, who has worked in higher education for 35 years. “It helped me build a quick understanding of our student population.”

He spent the entire academic year living on campus before moving into a house in Deerfield Beach with his two children and his wife, Karen, who also works at FAU.

In Ohio, Murray was dedicated to helping struggling college students. During his time there, he helped create a statewide network to assist foster youth and homeless students. He wanted to do the same in South Florida, which is why he now leads FAU’s Educate Tomorrow. The program, which he helped create, supports students who are homeless or coming out of foster care.

Murray also serves on the Deerfield Beach Housing Committee because he’s committed to creating affordable housing in the area.

“Housing is a nightmare. It’s hurting our ability to have a great staff,” he says. “We’ve had students living in their cars in our parking garages and we started to pay attention to that.”

Murray’s goal is to help change generational poverty. Making a difference for one student likely means the entire family could avoid homelessness down the road.

While he has made a difference in South Florida, South Florida has made a difference in Murray’s life as well.

Murray and his wife try not to forget that they live in a getaway destination. On weekends they are in vacation mode, whether that means pool time or driving to the Florida Keys. They visit Orlando often to use their Walt Disney World passes, something they ironically purchased after their two adult children moved out of the house.

“I appreciate every single day and try to get as much out of life as I can,” Murray says. “At the end of my life, I want to look back and say it was well spent, that I made a difference.”