Dr. Diane Murphy receives 2020 Outstanding Faculty Award

Dr. Diane Murphy, the Chair of Information Technology, Data Science and Cybersecurity at Marymount University, has been announced as one of the recipients of the 2020 Outstanding Faculty Awards by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dominion Energy.

Since 1987, these awards from the state’s coordinating agency for higher education have recognized faculty at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning who exemplify the highest standards of teaching, scholarship and service. Nominees are selected by the institutions, reviewed by a panel of peers and chosen by a committee of leaders from the public and private sectors.

In all, 85 nominations were submitted this year. This group was narrowed to a field of 27 finalists, and then to the 12 official recipients. Dr. Murphy and the other 11 award recipients will receive a $7,500 gift from Dominion Energy at a special ceremony in Richmond on March 9, 2020.

“It is so exciting to be selected for this award with such a prestigious group of recipients from across the state,” Dr. Murphy said. “It is indeed an honor for me and Marymount to be recognized at this level. I thank my Marymount family – colleagues, students and alumni – for their wonderful words of support. A big thanks also goes to Michelle Steiner, who was my guide and mentor throughout the application process.”

Dr. Murphy joined Marymount University in 2002. She is active in the promotion of STEM education, including the awarding of CyberCorps SFS scholarships at the University. One of her primary interests is the inclusion of women, minorities and veterans in STEM careers, including cybersecurity.

She began her career in the European pharmaceutical industry and was an early leader in chemical informatics, using technology to predict the biological and toxicological effects of chemicals. Dr. Murphy was a serial entrepreneur in the 1980’s and 1990’s, founding and operating a software development company and a corporate training company in the U.S. She also led a not-for-profit that helped young entrepreneurs succeed in their initial technology business ventures.