Joshua W. Murfree, Jr., Ph.D. – Educator, Researcher, Author, Clinician, Community Leader

Recognized as an Outstanding Georgia Citizen by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, July 31, 2019. 

Dr. Murfree formerly served in the role of Administrator for the 200-Year Celebration (Bicentennial) of Macon-Bibb County, Georgia. Dr. Murfree served as the Chief Operations Officer for six years for the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority, which is the owner of the Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Murfree served as both COO and Interim CEO for the Authority from 2019 until 2022. Dr. Murfree and his staff negotiated with Fulton and DeKalb counties and Grady Hospital System to build a Center for Advanced Surgical Services (CASS Project) for cancer patients at a cost of $221,000.000.00. 

Dr. Murfree served as a judge in the Miss Georgia Pageant in June 2024, and he is a proud member of the Kiwanis Club of Macon, Georgia. As in his prior leadership positions, he came with enthusiasm, energy, and passion, with the desire to make a difference before making a change in the platform of any organization. Dr. Murfree served as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at both Fort Valley and Albany State Universities. He served as the Director for the Center of the African American Male, Director of the Honor’s Program, Interim Director of Admissions, and Interim Vice-President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs on two unique occasions. He was originally hired as the Chairman for the Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work, and was extremely proud to assist the Social Work program in earning its accreditation. Dr. Murfree earned the prestigious ranking of Full Professor with Tenure at Albany State University. He was also on the university’s accreditation team and appointed as the Chair by the university President. He, along with two other committee members, were invited to speak at the National Conference of SACS discussing the success of ASU and its successful accreditation procedures in both San Antonio and Atlanta. 

Dr. Murfree started a Pre-K to college program, which is still in existence today. Murfree was able to acquire $1,000,000.00 in scholarships from Florida A&M University for deserving students in the STEM areas. Dr. Murfree was recognized as a 2012 nominee for Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia School Superintendents’ Association. Under Dr. Murfree’s leadership, the district received its reaffirmation for accreditation under SACS/AdvancED for another ten years. He did not waste any time outlining new directions for the system with the desire to improve community collaborative efforts and parental involvement, which led to a reduction in dropouts and improvement in promotion and performance for students. He introduced the need for a Drop-In Academy, A Career and College Readiness Academy, as well as a technologically savvy district. Murfree introduced an aggressive charge for mentoring programs across all schools for males in the district and supported the current charter schools. He and his team work diligently to receive both “Race to the Top” and School Improvement funding for the district, totaling over $12,000.000. Dr. Murfree oversaw an overall budget of approximately $283,000,000.00, including facilities. Dr. Murfree also served as Vice-Chairman for the Board of Control as elected by his Superintendent colleagues for the Southwest Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA). 

Dr. Murfree is Board Certified in Educational Leadership at the Building and District Levels as well as several psychological and psychotherapeutic disciplines, with a background in both Counseling and Clinical Psychology. He has served in other leadership roles as Executive Assistant to the President, Administrative Chief of Staff, and with the 100 Black Men of America, Incorporated, he is recognized as the Chairman of Higher Education with plans to increase the enrollment of African American males in higher education. 

Dr. Murfree formerly served as the National/International Mentoring Chairman of 100 Black Men of America, Incorporated, and was recognized and honored as the author, architect, and creator of a comprehensive mentoring program known as “Mentoring the 100 Way [now Mentoring the 100 Way Across a Lifetime].”  Dr. Murfree received recognition as the Mentor Organization’s Lifetime Achievement Awardee nominee for 2019. Dr. Murfree received the National Mentor of the Year Award in 2021 from the 100 Black Men of America, Incorporated. He also served as Vice-Chairman of Operations and Vice-Chairman of Programs, as elected by his peers. 

Dr. Murfree is married to the former Ms. Samantha Wilson, who serves as the Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs at Mercer University and has been employed at the university for twelve years. She is the proud founder of Prevailing Woman Ministries, which serves ladies who are experiencing breast cancer, homelessness, and battered women etc. She is the proud author of a devotional book entitled: “The Prevailing Woman: A Woman’s Journey Toward Overcoming, Conquering, and Prevailing. Since then, she has authored three other books, with one being a work journal. They have a daughter by the name of Tabitha, Son-In-Law Jason, and two lovely and adorable grandchildren by the names of Bayleigh Jay and Rylei Jayce Blair, who were born three years apart on November 6. Dr. Murfree and his wife are members of Beulahland Bible Church under the leadership of Pastor Carlos Kelly. The church is in Macon, Georgia.