Dan Murphy, director of Penn State’s Office for Student Orientation and Transition Programs, has announced that he will run for State College Borough Council in the spring primary.
Murphy, a Democrat, moved to State College in 2012 to become the first director of Penn State’s SOTP, where he said he works daily welcome new students to University Park and State College and has worked with campus and borough leaders.
“I’m ready to get to work for State College,” Murphy said in announcing his candidacy.
He said that as a young professional and renter he will bring a perspective that is currently absent from borough council. Some of Murphy’s priorities include economic development, encouraging entrepreneurship, respect for diversity of all community members, supporting efforts to bring young professionals into borough neighborhoods and increasing the engagement between the university and the borough.
“These efforts will allow us to celebrate the people, places and services that make State College such an incredible place to live, while positioning State College to better meet the needs of all of its current, and future, residents,” he said.
A native of Lansing, Mich., Murphy received bachelor’s degrees in music and organizational community from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from James Madison University. Before coming to Penn State, he held student-focused administrative positions James Madison and Indiana University.
At Penn State, Murphy is a part of the leadership teams for student affairs and undergraduate education. He is a member of the Commission for Racial and Ethnic Diversity and has worked on initiatives to address drug and alcohol abuse as well as issues of hunger and homelessness among the student population and in the local community.
A resident of the Orchard Park neighborhood, Murphy said he wants to find opportunities to recruit and retain young professionals for various businesses and industries in State College.
Three borough council seats will be up for election this year. The primary election is May 16.