Relatively few of Notre Dame's 96,000 alumni may recognize the
name JAMES E. MURPHY '47, who passed away last
September at age 78 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
But the retired associate vice president for university relations
played an integral role in shaping the public's perception of
the University for four decades. A soft-spoken man with a gentle
wry wit, Murphy served as the University's chief public relations
officer from 1952 until his retirement 40 years later. He was
the quintessential "man behind the scenes" involved in media relations,
special-events programming, alumni relations and public relations
support for five fund-raising campaigns. A discreet man of detail
and protocol -- his son, Michael, confessed he never was sure
of his father's political affiliation -- Murphy coordinated numerous
University events involving political figures, statesmen, celebrities
and business leaders. He accompanied Father Hesburgh to the White
House to present President John F. Kennedy the 1961 Laetare Medal
and was a liaison to White House and Secret Service personnel
for campus visits by presidents Eisenhower, Ford, Carter, Reagan
and the elder Bush. Murphy enrolled at Notre Dame in 1941, however
he didn't complete his degree in English until 1947 after serving
in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He pursued graduate
studies at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and worked
as a news editor for the American Broadcasting Company and in
public relations for the American Legion before returning to Notre
Dame in 1952. As a student in 1942, Murphy took part in Notre
Dame's centennial celebration; 50 years later he culminated his
Notre Dame career as executive director of the University's 13-month
observance of its sesquicentennial. In his homily at the Sacred
Heart Basilica funeral mass, Father Hesburgh said, "Jim had a
long, faithful career extolling our Lady's University. He worked
long, quiet hours in the Main Building producing reams and reams
of press releases, certificates, honorary degree and Laetare Medal
citations, and he did so excellently. We don't think often enough
of those who work in quiet, faithful and excellent ways like Jim
Murphy, but it's people like Jim who help us live up to the dreams
of our youth."
REV. MARK J. FITZGERALD, CSC., '28, the labor
priest who was a part of the campus landscape for generations,
died in September. His strict adherence to a low-fat diet and
near-religious devotion to exercise apparently paid off as he
was 96 at his passing and had continued to be involved in campus
events and labor relations issues almost until the end. "Father
Fitz," as he was known, worked at Notre Dame for more than 50
years, primarily teaching economics but also serving in the residence
halls and several administrative posts. He was a legendary figure
on campus and well known in the Great Lakes region for his involvement
in labor-management issues. In 1946, six years after being ordained,
he was honored by the U.S. government for his service on the War
Labor Board. He wrote numerous books on management and labor and
became widely known as an effective, no-nonsense arbitrator. In
1953 he launched an annual conference that brought together hundreds
of top officials from unions and corporate America. The conferences
continued until two years ago. He also led a long-running annual
lecture series sponsored by the United Steelworkers of America.
Shy and somewhat secretive, he preferred not to credited for accomplishments
or have people know he'd helped them. At his own labor-management
conferences he would remain offstage and ask others to introduce
the speakers. For decades the little priest could be seen jogging
the perimeter of the campus golf course with a book in hand or,
later, listening to books on tape. Always interested in improving
his mind, he was often memorizing literary passages and long poems,
which he was known to recite. He was familiar to generations of
workers in the Main Building, tottering up the stairs into his
90s (in his younger days he ran). He lived under the Dome as a
freshman in 1924 and kept an office there until the building closed
for renovations in June 1997. Most of those years he had a large
space on the fourth floor. In the final few he worked out of a
converted ladies room off a stairway landing.
