MSA announces leadership team

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) office has named a pair of leaders.

Dr. Andrew Johnson took over as MSA director in July, and Kyle Murphy was named MSA associate director in late August. Both look forward to connecting and collaborating with departments on all campuses and encourage students, faculty and staff to reach out to them.

Johnson previously served as assistant director of diversity, inclusion and belonging at Hartwick College in New York. He also brings 17 years of experience as an assistant basketball coach at Widener University in Pennsylvania and more than 12 years as an athletic director at a pair of community colleges. He previously served six years in the Army National Guard.

"UNG is trying to do the right things with diversity, equity, inclusion, and supporting students," Johnson said. "You want to be somewhere that people care and are doing the right things."

Johnson earned his doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pittsburgh, his master's degree in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy in Alabama, and his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.

UNG is trying to do the right things with diversity, equity, inclusion, and supporting students. You want to be somewhere that people care and are doing the right things.

Dr. Andrew Johnson

Multicultural Student Affairs director

Murphy previously served as interim assistant director of MSA. In addition to his Master of Public Health from the University of Georgia, Murphy earned a bachelor's degree in general studies from UNG in 2015. He was president of the Latin American Student Organization on the Dahlonega Campus as a student. He marvels at the exponential increase in financial support the university now provides to the student organizations MSA supports.

"The biggest thing is giving students opportunities to grow. If you give students the latitude and training, they're capable of doing great things. Our office does a good job of showing that," Murphy said. "They're able to go into the professional world well-prepared as strong leaders."

Murphy was one of three Diversity Champion Award winners announced in August. Earlier this year, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), and he serves as the chair of the GALEO Leadership Council.

"Kyle has earned a high level of trust and respect with the students and colleagues with whom he works," Johnson said. "And he has been instrumental in building and implementing key services and programs within the MSA office at UNG to support the comprehensive success of our students."