Page 10 - CEMS Winter 2022 Newsletter

GIVING MATTERS
Murray Family Scholarship
New scholarship recognizes value of education and promotes lifelong learning.
Jeffrey Murray (ChE ’83) and his wife, Jennifer (Theater Arts ’84), created the Murray Family Scholarship to honor their connection to the University of Minnesota and the important role education played in shaping their lives, as Jeff describes below.
“Almost 45 years ago, I came to the University of Minnesota from the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin. I came as a walk-on athlete to attempt to compete for the Big Ten Championship Men’s Gymnastics team. An adult mentor, Bob Janda, who managed the local Proctor & Gamble plant, told me that a degree in chemical engineering would suit me well.
It was challenging in the Cooke Hall gym and in the classroom but it all worked out and I must thank
my academic advisor, Professor Chris Macosko, for convincing me that if I could hang on through the first years of calculus and physics, the engineering courses to come would be magical; they were!
A lot has happened in those 45 years - I was lucky to find my way into the semiconductor industry and spend the majority of my career there. The industry was full
of growth, opportunities and reward. As an example, one reward was the opportunity to go back to school while working and earn a MS and PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford University. The depth of knowledge gained from the BChE degree from Minnesota served as a solid foundation for that effort.
I met Jennifer at the University of Minnesota. We have three children and between the five of us, we have
four degrees from the University of Minnesota in three different schools: College of Science and Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and College of Education and Human Development. As a family we have been blessed to be able to afford this level of education and now it is time to give back to the next generation of students who will invent the future.
Jeff Murray and his wife, Jennifer, on vacation at Glacier National Park. Photo courtesy of Jeff Murray.
When we established the Murray Family Scholarship
in CEMS we wrote: “Solid educational fundamentals lead to a richer life experience, one filled with curiosity, challenge, reward and a thirst for lifelong learning.”
We are overjoyed to be able to support the students who pass through CEMS on their way into the world.”
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