Alumnus establishes scholarship endowment to support mathematics and statistics majors

After earning an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech, Kevin Patrick Murphy ’99 found himself working full time as a research development scientist at Beckman Coulter, a biomedical company in Kendall. Yet he couldn’t stop thinking about statistics.

Prior to his Virginia Tech days, Murphy had taken a course on statistics at Northern Virginia Community College. It clearly left a lasting impression. Coulter generously afforded Murphy the opportunity to pursue his interest by subsidizing part of his tuition at FIU and allowing him to take late afternoon and evening classes. They were “very supportive,” Murphy recalls.

With the gift of financial assistance, Murphy realized his goal. New degree in hand, he relocated to Kentucky for work, where he utilized his knowledge of statistics to become a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. This advanced certification distinguishes professionals who have demonstrated a mastery of advanced statistics and methodologies to help them lead complex, data-driven process improvement projects, ensuring quality improvement, waste elimination and cost savings.

Murphy describes how, in this role, he often strategized “minimizing deviation and manufacturing processes, [while] enhancing efficiency for administrative processes.” Reflecting on the value of his statistics degree, Murphy attests, “It was beneficial intellectually and professionally. It was a good thing.”

Murphy credits his career success to his time at FIU. Eager to pay it forward, he has endowed his alma mater with a generous planned gift valued at $500,000 to establish and fund the K. P. Murphy Mathematics and Statistics Scholarship Endowment. As one of three students who graduated with a statistics degree in 1999, Murphy hopes that his philanthropic gift “gives more students better opportunities to graduate with a degree in math and statistics.” (Currently, around 25 students graduate each year with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and statistics.)

Recalling his time at FIU, Murphy fondly remembers several professors whose mentorship positively impacted him: now retired professors Carlos Brain and Jie Mi, who “spent a fair amount of time with me going over prompts,” Murphy chuckles, as well as associate professor Hassan Zahedi-Jasbi, who continues teaching in the mathematics and statistics department. Thanks to their guidance, Murphy proudly relays that he “graduated with honors,” adding, “I really had a nice experience at FIU.”

Thrilled to contribute to FIU’s future, Murphy says that it’s rewarding to know that his donation will have a lasting impact by supporting students for years to come.