With her generous gift, Susan Murphy (B.S. ’75, mathematics) funded a Maryland Promise Program scholarship to provide students with financial, mentoring and networking opportunities.

For Susan Murphy (B.S. ’75, mathematics), the years she spent as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland made an unforgettable impact.

“Maryland provided me with an excellent educational foundation and then a successful, lucrative and very diversified career,” Murphy said. “That wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have that education.”

Nearly 50 years later, Murphy started writing the next chapter in her UMD story, with the hope of giving others the same kind of academic opportunity she had years ago.

“I tell you what,” she said, “it’s probably one of the best things I ever did.”

It all started one summer day in 2020 when Murphy, now retired and living in South Carolina, received the latest edition of Odyssey, the annual magazine published by UMD’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences (CMNS).

“I am a lifetime alumni member, and I get all these publications from the university,” Murphy explained. “And when I started reading Odyssey, the thing that caught my attention was the very back page of that glossy publication.”

What Murphy happened to see on the back page was an advertisement promoting the Herbert Hauptman Endowed Graduate Fellowship Program, which was established by a mathematics alum’s daughter to honor her late father’s memory. Murphy was immediately inspired.

“You know I looked at that and I said, ‘Why not?” she recalled. “I was very fortunate to get an excellent foundation at Maryland, and when I saw that story, I thought, you know what? I think I want to be a philanthropist, and I want to give back to help others who weren’t as fortunate as I was.”

Murphy soon contacted CMNS Assistant Dean for Development Megan Carnell, and with a generous gift, she established the Susan E. Murphy B.S. ’75 Maryland Promise Scholarship. The scholarship supports undergraduates from Maryland and Washington, D.C., who demonstrate exceptional leadership and academic potential, providing them with financial, mentoring and networking opportunities. Her gift was matched by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation as part of its Building Together investment in the university.

“Helping students who need that help, this was something I really wanted to do, and it has been a very rewarding endeavor for me,” Murphy explained.

Inspired by mathematics

As an honor student excelling in math at Dulaney High School in Timonium, Maryland, Murphy always saw UMD as part of her plan for the future. From the day she arrived on campus, everything about her college experience—from living in the Centreville dorm to the programs and people that were part of her major in mathematics—was just what she’d been hoping for. 

“My college experience was fantastic. Both educationally and socially,” Murphy recalled.

All my professors were great. The other thing I really remember is that I was so impressed with the graduate students. You would go to your lectures and have your classes and then you’d go to these sessions with graduate students, and there were a couple in there that really made an impression on me.”

Murphy’s studies in mathematics and the other classes she took to broaden her skill set provided a strong foundation for the future.

“After a year or two, I realized I didn’t want to be a math teacher, so I tried to map out my curriculum so I was able to get a minor in computer science,” Murphy explained. “The computer science-math combo was really what got me off to a positive start after I graduated.”

Murphy’s first job took her to Bendix in Columbia, Maryland, where she worked as a contractor for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“I worked with a lady who was a Ph.D., and quite often we’d get on the van to go to Goddard, and we plotted the satellites,” Murphy recalled. “That kind of knowledge was a little bit above my head, but it was really interesting. Every time a scientist plotted a path for a satellite, a book was written, and I think there were two books where I was mentioned as a contributor.”

Ready for a new challenge, Murphy moved on to Westinghouse, which later became Northrop Grumman, where for the next 35 years she took on a variety of roles, from software programming to business to management. For Murphy, every new position was an opportunity to grow.

“My whole career wasn’t technical. I moved to the business side of the house, and I jumped around in different financial capacities and moved into management for a while,” she explained. “When I would change jobs to a totally different field they would say, ‘There’s your desk, figure it out.’ And that’s what I did. It was kind of self-education—it’s really interesting to be able to get through the muddy waters yourself, to have the self-development to be able to do that.”

Staying connected to UMD

Throughout her career and after she retired in 2012 and moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Murphy stayed connected to people and events at Maryland through the university publications and glossy magazines that showed up regularly in her mailbox. But when she launched her Maryland Promise Program scholarship, that UMD connection began to feel much more personal—especially in 2023 when the scholarship named its first recipient—public health science major Taylynn Taylor.

“They sent me a letter that Taylynn had written to me. It was just very emotional, made me very happy and even made me cry,” Murphy said. “It just made me feel like I made a difference in somebody’s life.”

In her thank-you letter, Taylor shared her passion for science, calling the scholarship a blessing.

“I knew in my junior year of high school that I wanted to go to a school that would support my research and curiosity, and help to develop my interests,” Taylor wrote. “What I didn't know was that by going to Maryland I would also get support outside of the classroom and office hours. To be supported by your organization both in and out of academic pursuits is truly amazing, and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

On November 8, 2024, Murphy and others who have made generous gifts to CMNS were honored at the CMNS Dean’s Circle Dinner & Induction Ceremony. For Murphy, being able to help students like Taylor realize their dreams means more than she could ever have imagined. 

“It means everything,” Murphy said. “I was able to make a difference for someone who is less fortunate than me, and Taylynn seems like she’s a very, very smart young lady. She’s in the sciences, and if that’s where her heart leads her and that’s what she wants to do, then God bless her, and I’m glad I can make that happen for her. I hope other alums will be inspired to do the same.”