Update on De Anza

Brian Murphy is president of De Anza College in Cupertino, California. In 2011, he was instrumental in the development of The Democracy Commitment, a national project aimed at ensuring that every community college student has an education in democratic practice. Previously, Murphy was executive director of the San Francisco Urban Institute at San Francisco State University, a position he held after serving as chief consultant to the California State Legislature’s review of the Master Plan for Higher Education in the late 1980s. Murphy taught political theory at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University and San Francisco State University, and has served on several city commissions and nonprofit boards. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, all in political science.

Murphy has been president of De Anza College since 2004. A key focus of his presidency is the preparation of students to be active, involved citizens committed to transforming their communities. This vision led to the creation of De Anza's Vasconcellos Institute for Democracy in Action (VIDA), formerly the Institute for Community and Civic Engagement.