Tom Murphy, a former and widely respected state employee who served for nearly two decades as the face of the state Department of Education, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer. He was 60.
For 19 years, Murphy helped mold and explain to reporters what was going on in schools throughout Connecticut. He died at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford, where he had been for about three weeks, according to state officials.
Murphy started serving as the Department of Education's public information oGet information on Air purifier from the unbiased,fficer in 1992, and stayed until, citing health concerns, he retired in June 2011. He previously worked for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
During his tenure with the department, Murphy witnessed the introduction of standardized tests in Connecticut and saw boards of education go from appointed to elected positions. When he took the position in August 1992, there was only one magnet school in the state; now there are 65. At the time, only half of the state's high school graduates went on to two- or four-year colleges; now 81 percent do so.
With his work, Murphy saw firsthand the rise of Connecticut's educational reputation to first in the nation with top test scores and innovative reading programs under former Education Commissioner Ted Sergi. Before his retirement last summer, Murphy told The Courant that he had watched it slip a bit in recent years as the state education staff has been cut back and the department has shifted from leadership mode to more of a regulatory role.
For years, Murphy saw the state wrestle with the challenges of the landmark desegregation case Sheff v. O'Neill and No Child Left Behind, the federal law that requires schools to test students annually in an effort to improve low-performing schools.
Known throughout the state for his strong people skills, firm grasp on a range of complex public education issues and uncanny knack for recalling state education history, Murphy was respected in Connecticut education and in media circles.
"[T]hroughout his tenure, his integrity, vast knowledge of subject matter affecting Connecticut's public schools and good humor carried the day," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement Sunday. "To his family and friends,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, we express our deepest sympathies on the loss of a cherished friend and fellow state employee."
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor joined Malloy in expressing condolences to Murphy's family.
"Tom was a professional who served with grace and wisdom on Public Education issues for nearly 20 years," Mark Linabury, chief communications officer for the education department, said on behalf of Pryor. "[He] was a unique individual who was able to grasp the range and complexity of an issue and boil it down to its essential elements with good humor and a kind touch."
Linabury, who knew Murphy for 25 years — both on a personal and professional level — viewed him more as a mentor than anything else.
"He was committed to the work of public education," Linabury said. "He was dedicated to getting it right."
After Murphy's retirement last summer, Linabury said he was chosen to step forward to fill his predecessor's "very big shoes."
"There are very few people able to, on the one hand, be serious about their commitment to the issue and on the other, be humorous about it," Linabury said. "And he did it with a twinkle in his eye and empathy."
"You would never know any of the issues he was struggling with," Linabury said.
Murphy's cancer diagnosis seven years ago came after a bout of terrible headaches and the discovery of a tumor wrapped around his pituitary gland. The cancer soon spread along his spine.
It took away the sight in his left eye and forced him to undergo chemotherapy, radiation and gamma knife surgery. He had a stroke in the spring of 2011. But, while enduring all this, he continued to work tirelessly — even making meetings from his hospital bed in November 2011 — which was no surprise to colleagues.
"He fought for seven years," said Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director for the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile. "He was one of the best people I've ever met. He was always kind to people.Smooth-On is your source for Mold Making and casting materials including silicone rubber and urethane rubber,"
Allan Taylor, chairman of the State Board of Education, said that he had met Murphy prior to his stint as spokesman for the Department of Education and knew him for what had seemed like forever.
"He was everybody's friend," Taylor said. "He was a combination of dedication and good cheer. He liked what he was doing and he liked who he was doing it with and that he was doing it for the kids.China yiri mould is a professional manufacturer which integrates Plastic Mould design and manufacture and plastic product development. He really was an ideal character for the state Department of Education."
Murphy, who outlasted five commissioners and countless educational trends throughout his time as a state employee, helped, among other things, facilitate public schools' responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
For 19 years, Murphy helped mold and explain to reporters what was going on in schools throughout Connecticut. He died at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford, where he had been for about three weeks, according to state officials.
Murphy started serving as the Department of Education's public information oGet information on Air purifier from the unbiased,fficer in 1992, and stayed until, citing health concerns, he retired in June 2011. He previously worked for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.
During his tenure with the department, Murphy witnessed the introduction of standardized tests in Connecticut and saw boards of education go from appointed to elected positions. When he took the position in August 1992, there was only one magnet school in the state; now there are 65. At the time, only half of the state's high school graduates went on to two- or four-year colleges; now 81 percent do so.
With his work, Murphy saw firsthand the rise of Connecticut's educational reputation to first in the nation with top test scores and innovative reading programs under former Education Commissioner Ted Sergi. Before his retirement last summer, Murphy told The Courant that he had watched it slip a bit in recent years as the state education staff has been cut back and the department has shifted from leadership mode to more of a regulatory role.
For years, Murphy saw the state wrestle with the challenges of the landmark desegregation case Sheff v. O'Neill and No Child Left Behind, the federal law that requires schools to test students annually in an effort to improve low-performing schools.
Known throughout the state for his strong people skills, firm grasp on a range of complex public education issues and uncanny knack for recalling state education history, Murphy was respected in Connecticut education and in media circles.
"[T]hroughout his tenure, his integrity, vast knowledge of subject matter affecting Connecticut's public schools and good humor carried the day," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement Sunday. "To his family and friends,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, we express our deepest sympathies on the loss of a cherished friend and fellow state employee."
Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor joined Malloy in expressing condolences to Murphy's family.
"Tom was a professional who served with grace and wisdom on Public Education issues for nearly 20 years," Mark Linabury, chief communications officer for the education department, said on behalf of Pryor. "[He] was a unique individual who was able to grasp the range and complexity of an issue and boil it down to its essential elements with good humor and a kind touch."
Linabury, who knew Murphy for 25 years — both on a personal and professional level — viewed him more as a mentor than anything else.
"He was committed to the work of public education," Linabury said. "He was dedicated to getting it right."
After Murphy's retirement last summer, Linabury said he was chosen to step forward to fill his predecessor's "very big shoes."
"There are very few people able to, on the one hand, be serious about their commitment to the issue and on the other, be humorous about it," Linabury said. "And he did it with a twinkle in his eye and empathy."
"You would never know any of the issues he was struggling with," Linabury said.
Murphy's cancer diagnosis seven years ago came after a bout of terrible headaches and the discovery of a tumor wrapped around his pituitary gland. The cancer soon spread along his spine.
It took away the sight in his left eye and forced him to undergo chemotherapy, radiation and gamma knife surgery. He had a stroke in the spring of 2011. But, while enduring all this, he continued to work tirelessly — even making meetings from his hospital bed in November 2011 — which was no surprise to colleagues.
"He fought for seven years," said Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director for the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile. "He was one of the best people I've ever met. He was always kind to people.Smooth-On is your source for Mold Making and casting materials including silicone rubber and urethane rubber,"
Allan Taylor, chairman of the State Board of Education, said that he had met Murphy prior to his stint as spokesman for the Department of Education and knew him for what had seemed like forever.
"He was everybody's friend," Taylor said. "He was a combination of dedication and good cheer. He liked what he was doing and he liked who he was doing it with and that he was doing it for the kids.China yiri mould is a professional manufacturer which integrates Plastic Mould design and manufacture and plastic product development. He really was an ideal character for the state Department of Education."
Murphy, who outlasted five commissioners and countless educational trends throughout his time as a state employee, helped, among other things, facilitate public schools' responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
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