Stephen Murray on Knowing Every Boy, Being There, and a Life in Leadership

In Episode 38 of The Late Start Show, we sit down with Mr. Stephen Murray, the seventh headmaster of University School, namesake of the Murray House, and current Head of School at The Lawrenceville School. Mr. Murray reflects on his journey from growing up as the fourth of six kids in northern New Jersey to becoming a lifelong educator, shaped by the public-school teachers who inspired him and by parents who modeled humility, kindness, and integrity. He shares the moment a teaching internship at Williams convinced him to dedicate his life to the classroom, his transformative year teaching immigrant students in a Paris suburb, and his early days at Deerfield, where a single late-night conversation with a struggling student taught him the lasting power of simply being a steady, reliable presence.

From stepping into administration almost by accident to becoming a head of school for the first time at US, Mr. Murray opens up about following a beloved long-tenured leader, managing a two-campus school through "the art of being seen," and what made the brotherhood and closeness of US so special. He discusses what it meant to have a house named in his honor, his philosophy that great teaching is fundamentally about love and trust, and how schools should think across thirty-year horizons about what to preserve and what to let change in an age of AI. Looking back on thirty-five years in independent schools, Mr. Murray reflects on watching colleagues like Mr. Gallagher rise to lead the schools he once loved, what still gets him out of bed each morning, and the deeply human relationships that, more than any building or title, define his "why."

Credits to Theo Walter for Production and Editing, Russ Nobles for the Intro and Outro songs, Mr. Wickboldt for being our advisor, and you for listening to our podcast and keeping up with the latest US news.