School of Business dedicates conference room to alumnus

In Oct. of this year, the SUNY Geneseo School of Business (SOB) dedicated a conference room in South Hall to Geneseo alumnus Robert E. Murray of the class of 1983. The room was dedicated during a special ceremony preceding the President’s Gala, with speakers School of Business (SOB) Dean Mary Ellen Zuckerman and Geneseo President Denise Battles speaking to Murray’s generosity and involvement in the SOB. 

Zuckerman emphasized the lasting impact that Murray has had on the business program after graduating in 1983. According to Zuckerman, Murray donated generously and has been instrumental in alumni participation in the SOB. 

“Bob Murray [has] been involved with the School of Business for a number of years. He was very interested in being a donor—a generous donor—to the trading room where we have our Bloomberg terminals and has been a regular donor to the college. When I first returned [as dean of the SOB], he was one of the first people who reached out and wanted to ensure that the Business Advisory Council (BAC) was going to go forward smoothly. And then I asked him if he would be the chair of the BAC in New York City and he agreed to do that; he was very helpful,” said Zuckerman.

“Bob stands out both because he dedicates his time, his ideas, and also money, since he’s a generous donor, but also because he’s a leader in doing it. He does it and he talks it up to other people and sets an example for doing it. He led the BAC for two years and he’s a very strong voice and he encouraged other people to get involved,” she said.

Zuckerman said that the SOB makes a distinctive effort to keep alumni involved in the business program through the BAC, a council of Geneseo business alumni that keep the program up to date with current business practices and valuable connections to personnel in companies looking to hire graduates. 

She said, “I think I think we’ve made, in the School of Business … a concerted effort to reach out, find alumni and connect alumni [to current students.] I think faculty across Geneseo do that, they all keep in touch with alumni. It's just that the structure of the School of Business is such that we’re organized … [as] a school [within Geneseo], so we put a little more emphasis on it.”

Zuckerman said that the college chose the Murray Conference Room in South Hall to dedicate to Murray since the room is largely used as a student tutoring space. Since Murray is so invested in student success, Zuckerman said that the conference room felt like a fitting dedication. 

“The college wanted to find a way to recognize his generous support both with his time, his ideas, his money, and so they were looking for something that would be meaningful to him,” said Zuckerman. “The conference room seemed like a great spot. We’re using the conference room right now primarily for tutoring, so we put our tutors in there and they meet with students. That seemed like a great place for Mr. Murray because he’s very devoted to the students and the student activities that happen there. We also use that space for alumni to meet with students. So, it seemed like a fitting space for honoring the kinds of work and the activities that he values so much at Geneseo.”

Zuckerman attributed the success of the SOB to alumni like Murray: “We just really highly value and appreciate the support of people like Mr. Murray. It both enriches the experience of our students and it also allows us to be distinctive as a school of business,” she said.