Dr. Jack Murray ’52 Endows Two New Scholarships
May 18, 2005
Dr. Jack Murray ’52 has given Wesleyan more than $1 million to endow two scholarships, one in his name and one in honor of Professor Emeritus Morton Briggs and his wife, Kathryn. Professor Briggs, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, worked at Wesleyan for over 50 years. In addition to teaching Romance languages and literatures, he served as director of the Honors College and chairman of the International Studies Program. In 1956, he received an honorary degree from the University. Upon learning of Dr. Murray’s scholarship gift, Mrs. Briggs was elated.
“It’s a wonderful thing for Morton at this point in his life,” she said. “Jack admired Morton a great deal, and I think he attributed his career partially to the training he received from Morton.”
Professor and Mrs. Briggs came to Wesleyan in 1943 and established close ties to the community. While his career centered on the University, Mrs. Briggs taught French in the Middletown schools and cared for the couple’s three children, later working for her husband in the Honors College. The Briggs home, on Mount Vernon Street, was the scene of many a memorable gathering for Wesleyan faculty members and students.
Jack, a French major at Wesleyan, studied 19th century French literature under Professor Briggs. He graduated with honors, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Grenoble, in France. After earning Master’s and PhD degrees from Yale University, Jack taught French at the University of California in Santa Barbara from 1957-92.
“It was such a path that I had dreamed of but thought would never come true,” Jack said recently.
A self-described “Depression baby” and a four-year scholarship recipient at Wesleyan, Jack said that the University transformed his life. It not only provided an outstanding education, but it enabled him to form lasting friendships with a number of students and professors. Over the years, Jack and Professor and Mrs. Briggs have remained in close touch through letters and personal meetings at educational conferences and Wesleyan events. In his teaching career, Jack drew inspiration from the accessibility and openness embodied by Professor Briggs and some of his colleagues in the French department.
Since his retirement, Jack has enjoyed gardening, reading, and hiking, often in mountains and jungles in remote corners of the earth. Among his most memorable adventures were expeditions to Venezuela’s Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall, and to Mali, in western Africa.
Closer to home, he enjoys reading about Wesleyan and the latest developments on campus. He is delighted to share the gift of a Wesleyan education with others so that they may enjoy the quality education he received as a student. He said that while Wesleyan has changed over the years, one thing remains the same.
“The community feeling is still there, and it’s a community dedicated to education and personal growth,” said Jack.
Wesleyan is most grateful for Jack’s generous scholarship gifts. The first recipients of the Morton W. and Kathryn I. Briggs Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship and the Jack Murray ’52 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship will be selected in the fall of 2005.
