Christopher Murphy Receives UConn Graduate of the Last Decade Award

STORRS, Conn. – Chris Murphy, the United States Congressional Representative for Connecticut’s Fifth District, has been awarded the University of Connecticut (UConn) Alumni Association’s Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award. 

The GOLD Award was established in 1999 to recognize the outstanding service and accomplishments of an exceptional young alumna/alumnus of the University of Connecticut. Areas of service may include professional, personal, civic and/or service to UConn. 

The award was one of ten distinctions given by the UConn Alumni Association in 2011. Murphy will be recognized at the Alumni Association Awards Celebration on Friday, October 14 at the UConn Storrs Campus and the following day at the UConn Homecoming Game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. 

Murphy is currently serving his third term as the representative for Connecticut’s Fifth District, which includes the Town of Bethel. Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly, during which time he simultaneously earned a Juris Doctor degree from the UConn School of Law.

Murphy was nominated for the award by university representatives and colleagues, all of whom cite the ambition and personal convictions that motivate his political career. 

“Chris is smart, personable and accessible to all of his constituents; always available to answer a question; join a conversation on an important topic or send a staff person with particular expertise to a community meeting,” said Ann Merriam Feinberg ’89, Director of Outreach and Development for the Connecticut Community Foundation. 

“It is hard to imagine a stronger candidate for the Graduate of the Last Decade than someone who by the age of 39 is already a third term Congressman,” added Jeremy Paul, Dean of the UConn School of Law and Thomas F. Gallivan, Jr. Professor of Real Property Law.

Murphy has distinguished himself throughout his political career by participating in a number of high-profile committees. While in the State Senate, he acted as Chairman of the Public Health Committee, leading the passage of Connecticut’s landmark stem cell research law that was influential in the development of UConn’s Technology Incubation Center in Farmington, Connecticut. In the United States House of Representatives, Murphy serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 

“Chris has been instrumental in the successful effort to enact comprehensive health care reform, to institute major transportation improvements for Connecticut, and in strengthening laws regarding labeling of American-Made content in consumer products,” said Christopher Stratton, a fellow UConn School of Law graduate.