Hall of Fame
Patricia Murray dedicated nearly her entire professional career to York University and had an impact in numerous ways throughout her 38 years at the institution. She is also recognized as a leader in sport in Canada and her vast array of contributions span several organizations and decades.
She had the opportunity to come here as a student but chose a different school instead mainly to avoid the first-year French requirement at York. However, things came full circle after she completed her master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Alberta when a job at York became available and she jumped at the chance. The rest, as they say, is history.
“I love this university! Because I had so many different jobs along the way, it was easy to be engaged continuously in the community. When I first came here it was a young university and much smaller and the people were amazing. It was a great place to work. I found enough different kinds of jobs within the school that I didn’t have to go anywhere else and I’m very proud of everything I accomplished while here.”
Murray began her tenure as the head coach of the badminton and synchronized swimming teams, as well as teaching in the Physical Education Department. She soon added administrative roles to her growing list of responsibilities, and in 1995 she was named the director of Sport & Recreation.
She remains the longest serving athletic director after 13 years in the role, and her leadership was instrumental in a number of major changes for the department. Under her watch, the Lions varsity program won 29 conference titles, the fitness centre, team rooms and a strength and conditioning facility were added to the Tait McKenzie Centre, two major new facilities (York Stadium and Canlan Ice Sports) were built and Excellence Awards for continuing student-athletes were introduced.
“The new facilities made a huge difference for us,” Murray says about her greatest contributions. “But in that role, I was mainly trying to build a team of professionals who had both an athletic and academic focus for their student-athletes so that we could provide the best services to our students.”
While Murray was busy developing and expanding the Sport & Recreation Department at York, she was also making her mark on the sport scene in Canada, serving on multiple committees at different levels and representing her country internationally.
She was a vice-president of the CIS for five years, Canada’s chef de mission at the 2005 Summer Universiade and was the president of the OWIAA in 1997, leading to the amalgamation of the OWIAA and the OUAA. She also made an impact at the highest levels of sport, attending six Olympic Games and serving as an executive member of the Canadian Olympic Committee for eight years (1997-05), including four as a vice-president, and president of Synchro Canada for four years (1984-88).
“I’ve been involved in sport my whole life, since I was a little kid,” Murray says about her long career and all of the achievements. “My father was a sportsman and he encouraged me to get involved in community activities and it grew from there. I’ve really enjoyed working in sport, I’ve mostly enjoyed meeting new people and learning many new ideas all over the world.”
Murray is one of those people who has been sharing Canada’s ideas around the world, and her legacy both at York and within sport in Canada will never be forgotten.
