Murphy Professional Building During the Pandemic

The John J. Murphy building was opened in the year of 1981 to house the Russel J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication. It was named after John J. Murphy who was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees in the year of 1997. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this building saw some interesting revisions to help make it more accessible for learning. Seating charts were revised to help promote a safe learning environment, and promote social distancing.

The Murphy building was opened in the year of 1981 as a Mecom Center. Within this large space, there is a 432 seat auditorium, classrooms, and a bunch of faculty offices. It also contains a journalism lab and a studio. The first floor contains six classrooms, a news room, and a variety of labs. The second floor is made up of 40 offices. John W. Mecom, a Texas oilman had plans to donate money to help create this building in his name, but he never ended up paying the rest of his due by his death in 1981. As a result, the building was dedicated to John J. Murphy because of his support given to the university.

Accessed December 12th 2021. http://archives.sbu.edu/buildings/murphy/Default.html.

Accessed December 12th 2021. http://archives.sbu.edu/buildings/buildings_mobile/Murphy.html.