Paul Murphy with guitar

born to give

Paul Murphy with guitar

Paul R. Murphy ’73 has donated nearly every shape and size of gift imaginable to support the Libraries, from funds to purchase copies of The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois for student use, to actual coins. The Paul R. Murphy Numismatics Collection includes 709 sets of coins, as well as 4,779 coins and medals, among other related items. Additionally, to honor his parents, who instilled a love of music in their children, Paul established the Margaret E. & Joseph G.W. Murphy Music Fund, and has given countless gifts of musical scores, DVDs, CDs, and books on jazz, which comprise the Paul R. Murphy Jazz Collection.

Paul is passionate about UMass Amherst and has donated treasures and ephemera spanning its founding and history, as well as established a planned gift to create the Paul R. Murphy Special Collections and Archives Fund. He is also a proud participant in #UMassGives, the campus’s annual two-day online fundraiser, reaching out to fellow alumni to encourage their support and even sponsoring challenge and match gifts during the campaign to incentivize new and recurring donors. Paul says of his generosity: “I attribute my success in life to the lessons learned from my parents and the wonderful education I received at UMass Amherst. I am in a position now to give back to the campus and the Libraries in appreciation for my successes.”

Bruce Springstein album cover

Born and raised in Boston, Paul attended Boston Public Schools, graduating from Roslindale High School. While at UMass, he lived in Thatcher House in the Quad, was a floor counselor, and participated in house government and intramural sports. Many of his professional pursuits have been in the realm of service: Murphy is an Honorably Discharged Veteran of the States Navy Reserve; he worked as a tax examiner, a middle school teacher at Sacred Heart School Roslindale, and as the Executive Director of the Parkway Boys and Girls Club in West Roxbury Mass. He worked for Merrill Lynch, and retired as an associate vice president for AECOM, U.S.A. “The Libraries are the center of the university both physically and academically,” says Paul, who served as a member of the Friends of the Libraries Board of Trustees. “What better way to support the development and growth of the Libraries and its central mission to the campus, and to help foster research opportunities, collections, and facilities for generations to come?” —C.C.

To make a gift online visit:
library.umass.edu/giving
or
Mail a check to:
UMass Amherst Foundation
Memorial Hall
134 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003-9270