The OD Committee is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Paul Murray in the newly created role of OD Ambassador with effect from 1 August 2022. Paul has previously worked very closely with the OD Union on numerous fronts and his very broad institutional knowledge will continue to serve him well in his new role. 

We are pleased that he has accepted this appointment and we know that he will represent the ODU well. He will continue to contribute much to the Bishops community.

Those who have had the privilege of interacting with Paul over the past 30 years at Bishops will know him to be personable, gracious and eminently well-informed. Paul’s role will include interaction with ODs and ODU branches across the world, providing content for ODU newsletters, representing the ODU at relevant events and guided OD tours of the Bishops campus from the Mitre. We are sure that Paul will exceed these, as is his way. 

Paul is due to spend six months at Cambridge University to conclude research for a doctorate to be conferred. He will remain the OD Ambassador during this period. Further announcements will follow regarding practical arrangements during this period. 

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF DR PAUL MURRAY

Dr Paul Murray was born in Cape Town and grew up in Strand in the Western Cape. He attended HH Somerset West where he was the Deputy Head Boy in 1972; he played in the 2nd Rugby XV, was in the School Athletics Team and also captained the Debating side.

After school, he attended the University of Stellenbosch, reading for a degree in Latin and Italian, after which he went to the University of Florence for further studies in Italian (1979). He began teaching at St John’s College in Johannesburg in the early ’80s until 1990 when he came to Bishops.  

He began his teaching career as a tutor in Kidd House, after which he went to Ogilvie as the assistant Housemaster; in 1996 he became the House Director of Birt until 1999, when he was appointed as the Director of the Bishops Society. Paul retired from full-time teaching in 2018, after which he has worked as the school archivist. His teaching covered Business Economics, Economics, Art History, Latin and History. He coached tennis and rugby; and still runs various societies at school, including the Lingua Franca, Forum, The Historical Bench and the Museum & Archives Society.  

Paul holds an MA Cum Laude from the University of Stellenbosch, a DPhil in the Historical Sciences from the University of Pretoria and a PhD in History from Unisa; he has been nominated for the visiting Colenso fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge.   

He has lived in Founders House for the last 25 years where he still does daily duties including curating the quadrangle and gardens.