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A Gathering Place
Many generations of CUA students, alumni, faculty and staff enjoyed the benefit of having The Rathskellar (aka The Rat) on campus. The Rat was a popular destination for the campus community to socialize, debate political topics of the day, and enjoy music, food and an occasional beverage. With the opening of the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center, almost all of the Cardinal Hall administrative offices were moved and The Rat was closed. The university planned to create a new campus gathering place; however finding the right location has taken longer than anticipated.
A New Opportunity
 | Catholic University's campus, as many of you have observed, continues to enjoy significant growth and change. New residence halls are under construction. Existing buildings are being renovated or refurbished. Conaty, Spalding and Spellman halls are slated to be demolished, which will open up South Campus for major new residential and retail development. We anticipate that these changes will also open space in the Pryzbyla Center for our new gathering place — Murphy’s.
Plans for Murphy’s are progressing. The university envisions it as a place for faculty, staff and students to gather during the day, with an evening setting that offers food, beer and wine for those of legal drinking age, and a stage for entertainment. In developing the concept, Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., university president, and Vice President for University Relations, Frank G. Persico, believed the space should be named as a fitting tribute to Mike Murphy, an alumnus who embodied the spirit of Catholic University.
Honor Mike Murphy
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Those of you fortunate enough to know Mike would probably agree that no words could fully describe his life or capture his spirit. Mike earned his bachelor and master’s degrees in history at CUA — an accomplishment he was proud of, second only to meeting his future wife, Pat Morel Murphy, B.S.N.'74, M.S.N.'91, at CUA. With his interest in history, fueled by a voracious appetite for reading and studying historical figures, Mike was poised to become a leader as he left Catholic University in the late 1970s.
And a leader he was. Whether it was serving the citizens of Dutchess County, the city of Poughkeepsie or the Village of Millbrook in his home state of New York, Mike could be counted on to encourage and inspire. He would get out in front of anything that was intended to make a positive difference in people’s lives. His friendships, measured by number, length and devotion, were legendary. Many of those relationships were developed at CUA and most of those were enhanced by times spent at The Rat. A successor to The Rat to be named in his honor, is a natural match.
As a friend wrote, “Mike loved politics. He was partisan, to be sure, but would always listen to opposing viewpoints respectfully before offering his well-reasoned rebuttals. Political differences never became personal. One of his role models was Tip O’Neill, the former speaker of the house, who could disagree with a political opponent while maintaining a personal friendship. What better venue could there be for future generations of students to enjoy a spirited political debate than at Murphy’s?”
 | Mike passed away in May of 2007 after a courageous two-year battle against cancer. Prior to his death, Mike was approached about the idea for a new campus gathering space to be built and named in his honor. While being humbled about the naming honor, he was enthusiastic about the project. Were he here, his response would have been to get something going that would be a benefit to many others, to help plan the project, work for its successful completion, maintain its viability and move on to the next challenge.
We are now presented with the opportunity to follow through on this project with a “Mike Murphy” response.
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