Robert E. Murray '83
Why did you choose to create a scholarship at SUNY Geneseo?
I reconnected with Geneseo about 10 years ago as a tribute to the memory of my classmate (Class of 1983) and friend Jim Kelly. Kells and I were buddies at Geneseo, bar-tended together on Long Island in the summers during college and immediately after graduation, and both worked in the World Trade Center on 9/11 in Finance for different firms. He was always a real good friend who I admired and respected as a family man and a successful businessman as we grew older. I was fortunate enough to escape the World Trade Center on 9/11, Kells was not. He left behind a beautiful family who I have been fortunate to stay in touch with.
For many years I struggled with how to pay tribute to my friend and colleague who meant so much to me. My life was spared, but his was not so I felt compelled to give back to something we had in common. In the years that followed I was contacted by a woman in Geneseo’s Alumni Development – Kim Faber. The dialogue that ensued with Kim got me in touch with Geneseo again and I began to provide annual support to the James J Kelly Scholarship that was set up by his fraternity in his honor. As I became more involved with Geneseo myself by joining the Geneseo Foundation Board of Directors and becoming Co-Chair of the Business Advisory Counsel, my wife and I decided to endow my own scholarship to the School of Business.
What would you want the recipients of this scholarship to know about the person for whom it is named?
Recipients of the Robert E. Murray Scholarship are Juniors and Seniors who are business majors that have demonstrated academic success and are actively engaged in managing the Student managed Investment Fund and utilize the Trading Room in the School of Business to advance their knowledge of finance and trading. I am particularly proud of the Trading Room which was built at Geneseo a few years ago as I feel like it advances the opportunities for students to pursue a career in finance (something that Kells and I had in common!) I chose to provide support for Juniors and Seniors as those were the two years I attended Geneseo after transferring from a junior college on Long Island.
Tell us about your Geneseo memory, favorite tradition, or what Geneseo has meant to you.
Geneseo was a great place for me as a transfer student and its been even more fulfilling in recent years as an actively engaged alum. My memories now span nearly 40 years – the greatest memories are of the people (life long friends from my college years and more recent friends for the Foundation Board) and the small college town in western NY that became more important to me than I ever imagined.