Dr. Jo Murphy

Dr. Jo is the inaugural executive assistant to the Chief Innovation Officer at the Office of Innovation. Having worked in social justice fields for decades, Jo works towards curating an equitable, efficient, and effective work environment for the team.

Before joining the Office of Innovation, Jo was the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, a Career and Technical High School with over 1,600 students. Additionally, they were the inaugural assistant director for Cultural Engagement and the inaugural assistant director for Women’s and Inclusion Programs in the Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution at Rowan University. Working with students, faculty, administrators, and community members, she has spent the last 15+ years educating people and institutions on how to become more inclusive and conscientious. Embracing and promoting a safe, open, and healthy culture for all humans to thrive in, her work spans geographic locations from the midwest to the East coast and across generations of students.

Jo holds a Doctorate in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in northwest Ohio, where they are from, as well as a Master’s in Sociology from the University of Toledo. An interdisciplinary scholar within Fat, Gender, Women’s, and Popular Culture Studies, Jo examines the ways in which representations of fat women’s bodies within popular culture are accepted, rejected, and/or subverted by individuals.

Voted Best Professional Mentor at Rowan University, Jo truly loves helping people. They also just adore their spouse, Levi, and hanging out with their dogs, Eddie Vedder and Otis. They live on a small farm in Salem county New Jersey, and are an avid birder, marking over 360 species of birds across the US and Caribbean.