Yellowstone Times

Flynn Murray, an assistant teaching and research professor of civil engineering at Montana State University, has been named the first Mitchell Professor. This new professorship was made possible through a $1 million private donation aimed at supporting research that focuses on breaking down barriers for students with disabilities in the STEM fields. Brett Gunnink, dean of MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, elaborated on the initiative: “The purpose of the Mitchell Professorship is to support research related to removing barriers for students with disabilities in the STEM fields.”

This professorship was endowed thanks to a generous contribution from Sue Mitchell, made in honor of her late husband Timothy Mitchell. Murray, who has lived with incomplete quadriplegia following a car accident in 2009, has a personal understanding of the obstacles that individuals with disabilities encounter in education and employment. Her experiences have driven her commitment to reducing these barriers.

Flynn Murray shared insights from her journey, “I think students with disabilities can excel at engineering because we have to problem solve all the time.” She recounted the challenges and creative solutions she has developed, including modifying her van, using everyday items like brooms for unexpected purposes, and adapting her methods in skiing.

Beyond her own physical challenges, Murray is also researching "invisible disabilities," such as anxiety, dyslexia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She posed an important question: “How do you structure a classroom to remove unnecessary burdens for students with disabilities that aren’t immediately visible?”

This semester, Murray teaches a sophomore-level class on strength of materials for construction, catered to engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology students. She also co-advises a mentorship group called ePALs, which stands for "engineering peer academic leaders."