Tullisse A. (Toni) Murdock, Ph.D.
Toni Murdock obtained her B.A. in Education and History (1968) and M.A. in Southwest History (1970) at New Mexico State University. She received her doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Finance from the University of Arizona in 1986, receiving the Dissertation of the Year Award from NASPA. She was appointed as Acting Chancellor of Antioch University in October 2005, and in May 2006 was appointed as Chancellor. She is the first woman to head Antioch University.
Before her appointment as Chancellor of Antioch University, Dr. Murdock was the President of Antioch University’s Seattle campus from 1997-2006, and previously served for eight years as the associate provost for academic planning and programs at Seattle University. Her journey to the Northwest was preceded by three years of service at the University of Arizona where she was the assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and seven years as an administrator and faculty member at Western Wyoming College. She also attended the 1988 HERS/Bryn Mawr Institute for Women in Higher Education.
Dr. Murdock has been actively involved in promoting diversity in the faculty and curriculum at all institutions in which she has served. In 1992, she took on the challenge of rebuilding the ACE Network for Women Administrators in the State of Washington, and served eight years on the ACE Office of Women in Higher Education’s National Executive Board. In concert with her commitment to adult education, Dr. Murdock has served on the national CAEL Board since 2010.
Dr. Murdock has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in women’s leadership. In 2004, she was recognized by the Seattle Women of Color Empowered as a “Trailblazer” and by the Washington State Association for Multicultural Excellence in Education for her commitment and work in the area of diversity. That same year, she was honored by Seattle City Club in Voices and Faces for her work in civic engagement .
Before entering the field of higher education, Dr. Murdock’s career experience included counselor for New Mexico State Health and Welfare Services, high school history teacher, county justice of the peace, and municipal judge.
Prior to leaving Antioch University Seattle to accept her Chancellor position, Dr. Murdock was working with her campus to redesign the institution to provide an organizational structure that allows for delivering integrated, interdisciplinary graduate programs with a strong community outreach, project-based orientation. She believes in the need to integrate service-learning and civic mission at the graduate level and served on the state and national Campus Compact Executive Board for many years. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 by New Mexico State University.
