Staff Member Honored for Dedication to University.
A version of this story first appeared in BU Today.
Director of Graduate Student Life Mary Murphy-Phillips (MET’03) is one of three recipients of the John S. Perkins Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes non-faculty staffers for their dedication to Boston University.
Selected by the Faculty Council from nominations submitted by professors, the awards are financed by an endowment from their namesake, the late John S. Perkins, a BU trustee, faculty member, and administrator.
Every year during orientation, Murphy-Phillips, who designed the school’s on-boarding program, welcomes more than 450 students to the School of Public Health. Recently, she has added sessions on diversity and inclusion and one specifically designed for international students. She also organizes hundreds of student events, including seminars, workshops, and social events and plans and manages the 2,000-plus guests at the annual Convocation. Colleagues describe the 24-year employee as “collaborative, dependable, and quick to pitch in,” and say that she “has forged excellent relationships with facilities staff, faculty, parents, students, and administrators and is one of the most highly respected staff on the Medical Campus.”
Murphy-Phillips believes she has the best job at the university, largely because she works with people who are at the forefront of “trying to keep our kids safe and ensure each individual has equal access to resources.” She especially looks forward each year to Commencement, she says, because “there is no better feeling than seeing a student who struggled walk across that stage, receive their diploma, and then introduce me to their family as someone who helped them to get to that day.”
In a letter in support of Murphy-Phillips, one faculty member offered this: “Mary routinely makes extraordinary contributions to Boston University, to our students, to our faculty, and to our staff. She provides this support with cheerfulness, professionalism, and grace.”
The other 2018 Perkins awardees are College of Arts & Sciences physics department graduate program coordinator Mirtha Cabello (MET’91) and Michael Ciarlante, director of events & conferences. The three winners received a plaque and $500 at a May 1 ceremony at the Metcalf Trustee Ballroom.