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Kenneth Henley & Richard Murphy Scholarship

In memory of Kenneth Henley and his long career as a philosophy professor at FIU, the Kenneth Henley & Richard Murphy scholarship award has been established in support of the School of Integrated Science and Humanity in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. Dr. Henley joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion (as it was named at the time and until 1995) at Florida International University in 1978. He was also an active member of the College of Law Faculty Advisory Board in the effort to develop the FIU College of Law, due to his research specialization on Philosophy of Law, next to Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy. Ken was committed to the mission of higher education and exemplified the highest standards of scholarship in his own work. He was a deeply engaged departmental and university citizen and made numerous contributions to the Philosophy program. The $1,000 scholarship given in Dr. Henley’s name is intended to help student pursue their major or minor in philosophy and goals after graduation. The Philosophy Department thanks Richard Murphy for establishing this scholarship in Ken’s honor.

Scholarship Recipients

  • 2022-2023 Recipient

    Christopher Carlos Montejo

    Christopher Carlos Montejo’s studies focuses on the intersection of aesthetics, cognition, and community, and plans to pursue a career in university professorship, bridging the space between the humanities and sciences. Outside of his studies, he is active in the local art and music community.

    “One of my favorite aspects of philosophy is that there are so many expansive fields of study you can dig into. It’s impossible to sit down and just focus on one! In a few pages you can go from epistemology to ethics to aesthetics. It’s like jazz and its infinite genres, a few records can take you from bebop, to soul, to free jazz. And what makes both philosophy and jazz great is the fusion of different and diverse ideas. To bring together and mix different perspectives and knowledge is what defines philosophy, and I aspire to pursue the space between disciplines and combine them.”

  • 2020-2021 Recipient

    Persia Naseri

    Persia Naseri’s dream is to attend law school. A polyglot who has lived all over the world, Persia fell in love with philosophy at an early age. Persia states:

    “The reason I love law though and decided I would walk through the door which would be my legal career is because in studying concepts of the law, I realised I loved everything about it. The legal structure, the profession of advocating the law, the idea of having an ethical and moral code which I already myself follow every day, the work and reward of studying the law and working with the law.”

  • 2019-2020 Recipient

    Frederic Aurelien

    Frederic Aurelien was our second award recipient.  He was also chosen for his academic merit and demonstrated need. Frederic is an excellent class contributor and budding philosopher. He is curious and kind and has an active life outside the classroom. He’s worked at the Brooklyn Performing Arts Center and New York Public Interest Research Group. He also worked for Multicultural Programs and Services for a program that targets minority male students and offers them academic mentorship. One of his life goals is to write a philosophically informed novel.

  • 2018-2019 Recipient

    Joseph Collado

    Joseph Collado was our first award recipient. He was chosen for his academic merit and demonstrated need. Since receiving the award, Joseph has continued to be an active member of our philosophy community. He was elected to the executive board of the Philosophy Club. He is an excellent student, a great classroom contributor and he is also an accomplished jazz flute player.

    "I used the funds given to me in order to buy my books. These funds were really helpful for buying some school essentials, as well as paying for required school fees.” 

Kenneth Henley & Richard Murphy Scholarship Application

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