Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award, Past Recipients

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Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., PhD. CNY RPDB's 2013 REC Award Recipient

Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., Ph.D. (left) receives the CNY RPDB's Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award from Board Chairwoman Kathleen A. Rapp at the Board's 2013 Annual Meeting

Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr., Ph.D., President of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, was named the recipient of the 27th annual Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award at the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board’s annual meeting held on December 10, 2013.

Dr. Murphy began his career by obtaining a bachelor of arts degree from St. Michael’s College and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Syracuse University. Following his academic work, Dr. Murphy was employed by the O’Brien and Gere Companies, where he rose through the ranks to become President in 1993. Following a seven year tenure in this leadership position, Dr. Murphy returned to his academic roots and became President of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry from 2000–2013.

Dr. Murphy’s community service includes board membership on the Upstate Medical University Foundation, Boy Scouts of America’s Hiawatha Council, CenterState CEO, Audobon Society of New York, Say Yes Scholarship Governance Board, and Co-Chair of the SUNY Energy Smart New York Innovation Team. Among his many awards, Dr. Murphy has been recognized with the Post-Standard Achievement award, the Salvation Army Community Spirit award, the FOCUS Greater Syracuse Wisdom Keeper Award for Citizenship Trustee, the Greening USA Sustaining our Community award, and the Adirondack Environmental Education Leadership award.

Past Recipients