After 27 hugely productive years, Dean Ann Murphy, Ph.D., is preparing to bid a fond farewell to the Metropolitan State University of Denver College of Business.
Murphy plans to step down from her leadership role next Aug. 1 and will serve the following fall semester as a faculty member. In that capacity, she will lead the college’s effort to become reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, known as AACSB, before retiring from the University in December 2025.
MSU Denver will launch a national search for Murphy’s replacement this fall, with the expectation that a new dean will be in the role by next Aug. 1.
During a landmark tenure, Murphy has been an inspiring leader and has led the way in building up the University’s Business programs, longtime colleagues said. But when she first stepped through the college doors in 1997, she had no idea what lay in store.
“Oh, not at all,” she said. “I saw my career path purely as a faculty member and teacher.”
Dean Ann Murphy introduces David Bechtold as the new chair for the the Kemper Family Endowed Chair for the Center for Entrepreneurship in 2022. Photo by Sara Hertwig
After 10 years, however, Murphy was asked to become associate dean and to help run the College of Business, with a clear understanding that she would still teach half the time. Well, so much for that idea.
As her demands as associate dean grew, Murphy’s class time steadily diminished until the new role gradually morphed into full-time college oversight. By 2011, she had become the newly minted dean of the College of Business. “I guess I didn’t run away quickly enough,” she joked.
Over almost three decades, Murphy has been foundational to building up the programs and reputation of the College of Business. Prime among her accomplishments was when the college first earned accreditation from the AACSB in 2016.
“That’s the big one,” she said. “AACSB accreditation is the global standard. Less than 6% of colleges globally have achieved it, so it was a watershed moment for us and something that our talented faculty really deserved.”
Marketing Professor Clay Daughtrey, Ed.D., agrees.
“The college had been chasing that accreditation since the early 1970s, and many deans were hired to make it happen, but only Ann could do it,” he said. “Her encouragement and commitment inspired us to believe we could achieve that monumental goal.”
Murphy is also proud of the college’s progress in nurturing its most crucial resource: its students. “When I first became associate dean, we didn’t have any academic advisors,” she said. “But these days, we have a pretty extensive student-support-services operation.”
For Elizabeth Hinde, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education, the defining feature of Murphy’s tenure will be the incredibly positive reputation that the College of Business has attained under her leadership.
“At receptions and community events, someone will invariably tell me how their child or employee went to Ann’s college and then turned out wonderfully,” Hinde said. “And I’ll find myself also bragging about the place because, frankly, it is excellent.”
Dean Ann Murphy talks with Liz Hinde, dean of the School of Education, at an MSU Denver Board of Trustees meeting in January. Photo by Alyson McClaran
Ultimately, Hinde said, Murphy has grown to represent the rare qualities to which all deans aspire. “She truly cares about people, deeply understands her field and has created a fantastic college,” Hinde said. “I will miss her.”
Colleagues say Murphy has been a dynamo from the outset, known early on for her unwavering work ethic and active involvement in all aspects of overseeing the college. Where does such a strong sense of drive come from?
“Really, it’s all about the people at this University — the faculty and staff and our shared sense of mission,” she said. “Put simply, it’s a great place to work that’s filled with good people, where everything we do is focused on helping the students. And it’s hard not to get caught up in that.”
Daughtrey says Murphy has long been a solid bedrock of support. “Ann genuinely cares for all faculty and staff members, and her door has always been open to discuss whatever is on our minds,” he said. “She will be greatly missed.”
Although she’s a professor of Accounting, even Murphy might struggle to calculate the total hours of work she has put in over these 27 years. As retirement looms, what is she most looking forward to doing?
“Absolutely nothing!” she said. “There will be some traveling, I imagine — I love visiting Italy, for example. But my wife has already retired, so I’m just looking forward to being with her all day. That will be reward enough.”
