In 2025, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts honored Professor Virginia Murphy with the Individual Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. The award celebrates her nearly two decades of innovative teaching, mentorship, and leadership across the Residential College (RC), the Program in the Environment (PitE), and beyond.
Virginia’s nomination described her work as “foundational” and “exemplary,” citing her creative pedagogy that integrated scholarship with hands-on learning in food systems, sustainability, and environmental justice. Long before these topics became central to campus-wide conversations, Virginia was engaging students in meaningful, practical explorations of food justice, local food movements, and environmental activism.
Her impact extended far beyond the classroom. As Faculty Director of the East Quad Garden, Virginia cultivated a living laboratory where students learned about sustainable agriculture, community building, and ecological responsibility. She also mentored countless students, supervised original research, and guided senior theses on topics ranging from permaculture design and food security to environmental literature and urban farming.
Students consistently described her as a “welcoming, compassionate educator” and a “catalyst for discussion” who valued them as whole people while challenging them to grow as thinkers and citizens. Former students expressed “unwavering enthusiasm” for her courses, crediting her with shaping both their academic journeys and their commitments to justice and sustainability.
Virginia’s contributions to the RC and PitE communities were matched by her broader leadership. She served on the RC Executive Committee, the Program in the Environment Advisory Committee, and the East Quad Garden Committee. In 2013, PitE recognized her excellence with its annual Outstanding Instructor Award, and in 2019 she chaired the highly successful Community of Food, Society & Justice Conference at U-M.
In addition to the recognition of her colleagues and students, this award carried a $3,500 prize and will beformally presented at the fall 2025 LSA faculty meeting.
Virginia retired in Summer 2025, closing her teaching career with this fitting honor that celebrated her deep investment in undergraduate learning and her enduring legacy in the Residential College.
