Richard R. Murray is the founder of Equity Schools Inc. and has extensive experience in education and real estate. He is most recognized for his solutions involving school formation, operations, and capital finance.
Background
Richard Murray is an inventor of school operating models and a developer of school facilities. Murray's most notable work was the invention of the school model upon which Cristo Rey Jesuit High School of Chicago is based. Cristo Rey is an urban, college preparatory school for low-income students that features an internship program in which students work one day per week in professional, entry-level positions in Chicago’s central business district. Many media have featured the school including the television news program "60 Minutes", national publication Newsweek, and a book about the school’s development. 25 other schools in the United States have been based on this model, also known as the Equity School model. Many of these schools are affiliated with the Cristo Rey Network which promotes and supports replication of the model. He has a patent pending on the model as a business method, including applications as charter schools. He also is known for creating the public-private operating model in 2005 used by Wartburg College and Waverly, Iowa, for the wellness center there known as “the W,” one of the largest NCAA Division III centers in the country. In 2007 Murray invented another high school operating model for The Neighborhood Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, providing that college preparatory high school for low-income students with the means to develop a new campus.
Early Years and Education
Murray was born in Bay City, Michigan, in 1956. He developed his interest in and philosophy of school development while attending The Roeper School, where he was influenced by George Roeper’s views on education and human rights. His education includes The University of Michigan,, and Loyola University Chicago School of Law with additional legal studies at London School of Economics and University of Salzburg. He has taught at the high school, undergraduate college, and graduate levels.
