Brigadier General Douglas J. Murray, United States Air Force (Retired) assumed the responsibilities of Chairman of the Board of the Colorado Military Academy (CMA) in 2023. Prior to that time, he held the position of Dean of Academics and Chief Academic Officer, New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI). In this capacity, he oversees a unique learning institution that fully integrates secondary and post-secondary education. NMMI has received the highest level accreditation for its College Preparatory High School by AdvancED and its Junior College by the North Central Higher Learning Commission. General Murray’s distinguished nearly 42 year Air Force career in education, administration, leadership and management began with his graduation in 1965 from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Washington D.C. with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) (government, economics, and history).In 1970, he received his Master of Arts degree in government, history, and anthropology, from the Institute of Latin American Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin. He then completed his Doctor of Philosophy in international relations, comparative politics, and defense policy, in 1979, from the Graduate School of Government, at the University of Texas at Austin.

General Murray came to NMMI from the United States Air Force Academy where he served in a Presidential appointment as one of only 21 Permanent Professors in the Air Force. At USAFA, he held positions as Chairman of the Social Sciences Division, Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science and Vice Dean. As the Division Chairman, (the Service Academy position equivalent to a civilian university/college Dean) he oversaw, represented, and coordinated the five departments that comprise the division: Behavioral Sciences, Economics & Geography, Law, Management, and Political Science. As Permanent Professor and Head of Political Science, he commanded a department of 30 military personnel and high-ranking civilians, and was responsible for all curriculum, personnel, budget, research, and long-range planning. In addition, he was a member of the Academy’s major governing board, Chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee which oversees graduate programs for cadets, and the Chair of the Faculty Personnel Council that conducts the faculty academic promotion system.

General Murray entered the Air Force in 1965 as a Distinguished ROTC Graduate from Georgetown University. He served as a Titan II missile combat crew member and an intelligence officer in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Later, at the Air Force Academy, he was selected as the Vice Dean of the Faculty similar to the Deputy Provost at a civilian university. At the Pentagon he was the Deputy Chief of the Secretary of the Air Force Staff Group during part of the Carter and Reagan Administrations and worked with elements of the Reagan transition team. He also served as the chief of the Policy and Plans Division chief at Headquarters United States European Command, Vaihingen, Germany, during the Bosnian conflict. In that role, he was responsible for developing one of the first post-cold war Planning, Programming, and Budget Systems that was adopted throughout the European Theater. He chaired the strategic planning staff of the Air Force Education and Training Review Council, responsible for drafting the first Air Force-wide education and training strategic plan. He co-chaired the Dean of the Faculty’s Strategic Working Group, responsible in part for developing the USAFA capabilities-based strategic planning system and established the Dwight David Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies.  He is currently USAFA Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of the Eisenhower Center. He has more than 30 years of educational experience at the secondary and post-secondary levels. He was a Peer Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission that is the largest of the six post-secondary accrediting agencies accrediting over 1,000 colleges and universities.

During his nearly 16 years as the Chief Academic Officer at NMMI, he led a campus-wide effort to draft a strategic planning system and most recently a new Vision for the school. At the request of the Governor of New Mexico, he drafted and negotiated an agreement between NMMI and the Mexico State of Sonora, an agreement that has since been the basis for similar agreements by other New Mexico Universities. His current focus is to establish NMMI as a Global Military School for Leadership Development. To achieve that goal, he has been working with education and government organizations in the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and several states in Mexico.

His other notable achievements include membership on the Council on Foreign Relations, Academic Associate to the Atlantic Council of the United States, Pi Sigma Alpha, National Honorary Society in Political Science, twice named Outstanding Young Man of America, graduate of the National War College Class of 1984, recipient of the Excalibur Award from Bishop Eustace Preparatory School, Life Achievement from Leadership Roswell, and he is author/editor of books, articles and studies on national security and Canadian defense policy. He currently is the Strategic Educational Consult for NMMI.

His major awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

General Murray was married to the former Cathy Enright for nearly fifty years before her passing in 2013. They have two sons, one daughter, and seven grandchildren.

Contact Douglas Murray at board@cmacs.org or bgdoug.murray@gmail.com