Congratulations to EWU McNair Scholar Richard Murphy who's is a recipient of the Jeffers Chertok Dean’s Honor Award. This award recognizes exceptional graduates who have demonstrated a commitment to their education through outstanding academic achievement with a minimum of a 3.75 GPA in their previous 4 quarters and through leadership and service to the community.
Richard Murphy is an undergraduate student at Eastern Washington University. His three declared majors are Philosophy, Political Science, and International Affairs with an emphasis on Global Socio-Economic Development. In 2023, under the mentorship of Professor Thomas Hawley, PhD, Richard continued his research from 2022 on the phenomena of societal internalization of Neoliberalism, and the societal consequences of establishing competitive markets in historically non-marketed realms of our lives. By moving around a lot as a youth, living in urban, suburban, and rural communities in the Pacific Northwest, Richard understands and appreciates the necessity for a pluralistic chorus of voices and perspectives in the discussions for any sort of overarching policy decisions. He has presented his research at the EWU Symposium and the International Studies Association conference.
While also being a father of four, Richard has remained active in the EWU community. As the Vice President of the Philosophy Club and the President of the International Affairs Community at EWU, Richard recognizes the utility of taking interdisciplinary approaches to our most sophisticated and pressing issues of the 21st Century. During his time at EWU Richard has helped organize multiple panels and events to keep students informed on critical issues, including acting as a panelist himself on Neoliberalism in Higher Education. In addition he has helped to organize community events.
Richard was accepted by both WSU's PhD program in Political Science as well as the Political Science PhD program at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa with full funding. He will attend the University of Hawai'i starting next fall! We're so proud of Richard and all the hard work he's put into his research, preparing for graduate school, and being involved in the EWU community.
