Onyx Fall-Winter 2019

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS

The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor the College bestows upon a graduate in recognition of noteworthy achievements and valuable professional and personal contributions. L to R: President Dottie L. King with Valerie Dziubek Kuck ’61 and Margaret "Mickey" Kelly Murray ’70 at SMWC's 185th Commencement where they received their awards.

Valerie Dziubek Kuck ’61 Kuck transferred to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in the middle of her sophomore year. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and earned her master’s degree in chemistry at Purdue University. After marrying Mark Kuck, she joined the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. A few years later, she assisted in the drafting of the founding documents for the first women’s support group at Bell Labs and was elected the group’s first president. Kuck was active in the local section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the largest technical society in the world with 150,000 members. In addition, she completed in-depth research on the training and hiring of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. She determined that women in chemistry were encountering more barriers than in other fields. She presented her findings at universities and scientific meetings including the National Science Foundation, published her research in peer reviewed journals and wrote several book chapters. Kuck has received several awards from Bell Laboratories and from the ACS for her leadership, dedication, and numerous efforts to help women and others in advancing their careers. She authored 41 publications, edited two books and has been granted 24 U.S. patents.

Margaret “Mickey” Kelly Murray ’70 Murray attended Marywood School for Girls in Evanston, Illinois where she was introduced to the Sisters of Providence. She was an active member of the drama club and starred in several student productions. Murray followed her sisters to Saint Mary-of-the- Woods College where she studied theatre arts. Before finishing her studies, she moved to New York City to work in television production. She worked at NBC, as a page, for The Johnny Carson Show and for The Dick Cavett Show, among others. Murray married fellow Chicagoan, Bill Murray. In 1988, married with two small children, she followed her entrepreneurial spirit by opening a rustic home goods shop, Whispering Pines. Later moving to Westport, Connecticut with her two sons, Murray grew Whispering Pines into a nationally-recognized catalog company. She moved back to New York City, where she pursued a second career as a residential real estate agent at The Corcoran Group, one of the largest and most prestigious real estate companies in New York, originally owned by Barbara Corcoran of Shark Tank. Murray served for 12 years on the board of trustees at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, Connecticut and Lawyers for Children, a New York City based non- profit that represents children in the foster care system. Recently, she served on the School of Arts and Science advisory board at Fairfield University. She is a member of the Cosmopolitan Club and The River Club and is a Real Estate Board of New York member.

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