FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Distinguished Advertising Educator Award Recognition Goes to John H. Murphy of The University of Texas at Austin

Professor Emeritus Murphy will be honored as the 2021 recipient of the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) annual award for excellence in advertising education. 

Washington, DC, May 17, 2021 –John H. Murphy II, Joe C. Thompson Centennial Professor in Advertising & Distinguished University Teaching Professor Emeritus, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Distinguished Advertising Educator Award.

Awarded annually, the Distinguished Advertising Educator Award recognizes the best advertising professors in the country. Nominees for this award must demonstrate excellence in teaching and student advisement, a record of scholarly research, publications and professional experience, as well as active involvement in the advertising industry and its organizations, academia and the community.

When considering impact on the advertising community, it is difficult to think of someone more prominent than John Murphy. His forty-two years of teaching experience was predominantly spent at The University of Texas at Austin, but also includes time at Arizona State University, Santa Clara University, George Washington University, and American University. John inspired a generation of advertisers, and his past students include notable leaders in advertising, advertising education, politics, nonprofits, and countless other sectors. The rippling impact of Dr. Murphy’s contagious enthusiasm for advertising is immeasurable.

Dr. Murphy continues his contributions to the advertising industry following his 2015 retirement from the classroom. He manages the online Stan Talks series, a collection of five-minute videos ranging over many relevant topics in advertising. Contributors have included Keith Reinhard, Laura Desmond, Lee Clow, Harold Burson, Ann Rubin, Carol Williams, Jon Steel, Stan Richards, Dan Wieden, Matthew McConaughey, Herb Kelleher, Wally Snyder, and Jamie Turner. Dr. Murphy also continues to manage the Betty Lee & Vance Stickell Internship Program, placing 344 advertising students in internships nationwide over 31 years.

Dr. Murphy has been a leader both locally and nationally. His service includes chairing the national AAF Academic Committee (now National Education Executive Committee) and induction in the AAF’s Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame in 2017. As faculty advisor to the AAF, Texas Advertising Group, at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Murphy shepherded 12 National Student Advertising Competition teams, 8 of which won at the district level. He believes “this competition was the most effective vehicle for learning about what it takes to succeed in our business.” Further he states, “these competitions were the highlights of my career as a teacher. The enthusiasm, energy and hard work my students invested in these efforts was most gratifying.”

For more information about the Distinguished Advertising Educator Award, please contact Laura Roha or visit the AAF’s website at aaf.org.

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