Reg Murphy Center

The Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies is dedicated to serving the local community by providing insight and information on economic and public policy issues that are of importance. It serves as a storehouse of data on the local and regional economy.

The center is located in the School of Business and Public Management.

Our Research

Our publications are the products of research conducted by The Murphy Center faculty. Our research focuses on economic and policy issues that are important to South Georgia. Our publications also include research conducted by College of Coastal Georgia students, whom we encourage to develop research and analytical skills in service of the community. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

The Murphy Center also conducts special studies upon a client’s request. We will work with you to define your research objectives and prepare a proposal for the study to be conducted. Commissioned studies are produced on a fee-for-service basis.

VIEW OUR RESEARCH HERE

Labor Market Challenges in the Leisure and Hospitality Industry

The Leisure and Hospitality industry is a major U.S. industry. It is a collection of many industries – from hotels, restaurants and bars – to the performing arts, spectator sports, museums, zoos, golf courses and fitness centers. Don Mathews takes a close look at recent labor market developments in Glynn County’s largest industry.

Read the study here

Donald Black: A Theoretical Sociologist

March 13, 2024

One of my mentors, Donald Black, University Professor Emeritus of the Social Sciences at the University of Virginia, passed away in late January. Here, I’ll discuss Black’s vision for sociology.

Learn More about Reg Murphy

Reg Murphy is the inaugural holder of the College’s endowed Chair of the Brown Family Executive-in-Residence. As the College’s first executive-in-residence, Reg Murphy engages students in conversations about work and life experiences, career interests and strategies, networking, and courses and extracurricular activities that can help prepare for various careers. Murphy himself has described the position as “sharer-in-chief.”

Murphy’s contributions to the College have been substantial. During 2009, he headed a campus-community Athletic Futures Committee that created the vision and strategy for athletics at the College, which had just become a baccalaureate institution. He is a two-time College of Coastal Georgia Foundation Volunteer of the Year award winner (2011, 2014), the moderator of the Coastal Conversations series on campus, and continues his work and advocacy for the College’s athletic department as a founding member of the Friends of the Mariners. The College’s Murphy-Kuchar Putting Green was named in honor of Murphy and golfer Matt Kuchar, another benefactor of the College’s campus sports programs.

Reg Murphy is a great friend of Coastal Georgia, the College of Coastal Georgia, and the College’s School of Business and Public Management. A native of Gainesville, Georgia, Mr. Murphy has had a remarkable career in journalism and business, having served as president and CEO of the National Geographic Society, president and publisher of the Baltimore Sun, publisher and editor of the San Francisco Examiner, and editor of the Atlanta Constitution.

An avid golfer, Mr. Murphy joined the executive committee of the U.S. Golf Association in 1989, served as vice president of the USGA in 1992, chairman of the Championship Committee in 1993, and president in 1994. He co-chaired the World Amateur Golf Federation in 1994 and captained the U.S. team for the 1998 World Amateur Championship in Santiago, Chili.

The Reg Murphy Center bears Mr. Murphy’s name for all he has meant to the community, the College, and the School of Business and Public Management – but even more for the kind of man he is. He is a man of great intellectual honesty, integrity, and humility, and is devoted to serving the community. His name sets the standard for the work we do at the Reg Murphy Center.

The Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies was dedicated on Oct. 8, 2015.

Murphy Center Associates

Director:

Dr. Don Mathews, Professor of Economics

Research Associates:

Dr. Skip Mounts, Dean of the School of Business and Public Management and Professor of Economics
Dr. Melissa Trussell, Associate Professor of Economics
Dr. Heather Farley, Associate Professor of Public Management
Dr. Roscoe Scarborough, Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Drew Cable, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Contact Info

Dr. Don Mathews

Don Mathews

Professor of Economics

dmathews@ccga.edu

912-279-5929

Dr. Mathews is the Director of the Reg Murphy Center for Economics and Policy Studies, and a professor of Economics. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University, his Masters in Economics from DePaul University, and his BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He has been with the College since 1993. Dr. Mathews has authored more than 30 published articles and essays. His work has appeared in both professional economics journals and general audience venues. He has also recently written four reports on the economy of the South Georgia Coast for the Reg Murphy Center. His current academic research is in the history of economic ideas. Dr. Mathews’ first love is teaching. He regularly teaches International Economics, Macroeconomics, and the Economics of Work and Pay. In 1997, he was chosen Professor of the Year at the College of Coastal Georgia.

View Profile

Publications: From the Murphy Center columns

Murphy Center faculty write a From the Murphy Center column every Wednesday for The Brunswick News. The columns address a wide variety of economic and public policy issues from different perspectives.