Cal Lutheran marketing professor honored

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 14, 2015) School of Management professor Susan Murphy of Simi Valley received the 2015 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence at California Lutheran University.

The award was created in 1995 to recognize professors who are held in high esteem by their peers, students and the rest of the university community. A committee of past honorees selected Murphy, and President Chris Kimball presented her with the award at the 44th Annual Honors Day Banquet this month. As the recipient, Murphy will deliver the keynote speech to welcome new students at Opening Academic Convocation on Aug. 31.

Murphy, the chair of the Department of Management and Marketing, came to Cal Lutheran in 2002 with a strong background in applied behavioral science. Her research focuses primarily on social loafing, culture and performance in work groups.

An engaging professor, Murphy has a natural rapport with students, the committee said. Students say they appreciate the respect she has for them and their varying viewpoints. She shows concern for them not only while they are at Cal Lutheran, but also as they move into their careers. She spearheads the university’s annual Paths to Professionalism event that helps students transition to the full-time work environment.

Murphy is an organized, focused and hardworking professor who teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in human resources management and organizational behavior and development. She is an officer in the Cal Lutheran chapter of Sigma Beta Delta, the international honor society for business, management and administration. Admired and respected by her colleagues, she has been elected to many faculty leadership positions.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA from Texas Tech University and a doctorate in human resources management from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before coming to Cal Lutheran, Murphy was on the faculty at Wilmington College in Ohio.