Dr. Maureen Murphy Distinguished Professorship for Equity in Education
The Dr. Maureen Murphy Distinguished Professor for Equity in Education is dedicated to social justice through education.
CSM provides programs and services that support the social and economic mobility of people in the Southern Maryland region. It is equity in action, and the root of that action is in the classroom, irrespective of discipline, in the interaction between professors and students.
The goal of the Distinguished Professor program is to recognize faculty excellence and promote further faculty excellence through funds for faculty professional development.
Established in Fall 2022, this initiative is responsible for coordinating an annual lecture on a topic related to equity, which shall be open to the public, as well as working with the provost to provide additional professional development opportunities for faculty, which may include seminars, conferences, webinars, lectures, and other activities.
“CSM is social justice through education... We exist solely to provide programs and services that support the social and economic mobility of people in the Southern Maryland region. We put equity in action, and the root of that action is in the classroom—irrespective of discipline—between professors and students. This work requires the continual commitment and professional development of excellent and committed faculty.” - Dr. Maureen Murphy
About the Professorship
Vision
To purposefully work towards an ideal College of Southern Maryland, where faculty members are challenged to engage differences as strengths in an environment that constantly strives for equality of access, opportunity, resources, representation, and participation.
Slogan
Culture of Belonging
Faculty Goal
We commit to continually engaging in purposeful conversations and actions where we challenge ourselves and our faculty to examine our individual habits.
We commit to supporting initiatives and offices within the larger college community that advance inclusive excellence. We will promote justice and denounce what is unjust.
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The 2026 to 2029 appointee is Christopher Ankney. Professor Ankney presented a thoughtful vision that builds on previous work while expanding the conversation around equity and inclusion to include silent disabilities. A tenured Professor of English at CSM, he teaches writing and literature courses and brings more than 20 years of teaching experience. Ankney is also an award-winning poet and the author of Hearsay, with published work in journals including Boston Review, The South Carolina Review, Pleiades, and Hunger Mountain. In addition to his teaching and writing, Ankney is active in faculty leadership and professional service, contributing to initiatives in Writing Across the Curriculum, Open Educational Resources, and equity-focused student success.
CSM Technical Studies Professor Daphne Powell marked her 20th year as college professor by taking on what she deemed “the most extraordinary of her career accomplishments” to date. As the first recipient of the ‘Dr. Maureen Murphy Distinguished Professorship for Equity in Education,’ Powell embarked on a three-year journey to engage, mobilize and challenge CSM faculty, staff, and students—as well as CSM’s regional communities—to examine, and improve, equity in education.