Science professor finds love in USU, students, and Dolly Parton
In the Ag-science building, on the first floor, in a small cubicle, there is a desk with a sign that belongs to Professor Rose Judd-Murray, a science teacher on campus. On that sign is a picture of famed folk-singing legend, Dolly Parton, and it reads, “What would Dolly do?” That question is in the back of Judd-Murray’s mind every day.
“I was country before country was cool,” Judd-Murray said when asked about the sign, which was given to her by a friend. “She is one of the most intelligent musicians and songwriters of all time. She doesn’t write songs that rhyme. She writes songs that speak to her.”
One might not expect to find many similarities between a country singer and a science teacher, but Judd-Murray connects to Parton on a personal level, citing Parton’s personality and kind nature as qualities that she adores. Similarly, students of Judd-Murray also cite these qualities as reasons they like her.
On ratemyprofessors.com, every user rating for Judd-Murray is positive. Comments include: “Rose’s Science and Modern Technology is by far one of the best, most rewarding courses I have ever taken at the university,” “she makes class so interesting and fun,” and “Rose is an awesome professor who cares about her students.” Rate My Professor may not be the most reliable way to gauge the quality of a professor, but Judd-Murray also won the 2017 Graduate Student Teacher of the Year Award, which is given by the USU Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
Rose Judd-Murray “I love teaching and I love working at this university,” Judd-Murray said. “The class these students are talking about is my science and technology class. I love teaching that class and the content and the interaction we have is amazing. I tend to gauge the way the semester goes by the general feeling in the classroom.”
Judd-Murray said that it is important to her that she gets to know her students, remembering their names at the very least.
“I make people write their names on placards, and I try to remember them and know them. My students roll their eyes and I teach about 80 kids in that class, but I really try to remember each student and gauge if they feel connected to me or if I feel connected to them.”
Judd-Murray attended Utah State University from 1993 to 1997 while working on her undergraduate degree. She then returned to USU to work on her master’s degree from 1999 to 2002 and is hoping to finish her doctorate this spring.
“USU is the only school that I applied to because I wanted to be a veterinarian and this was the school best suited for that,” Judd-Murray said. “But I loved it here and loved undergraduate work.”
Judd-Murray realized her Senior year that she didn’t want to go to vet school and started working for USU Extension until returning to school.
“I worked for nonprofits and USU and just fell in love with Logan. It was an easy place to live and have that transition,” Judd-Murray said. “The faculty here does care about students and genuinely wants them to succeed. I feel a real responsibility now because over so many years I have had so many mentors, and while finishing my school I found that having a faculty member that will invest in me has changed the entire trajectory of my life.”
Judd-Murray says teaching provides many opportunities to to “pay it forward.”
“There are great dividends,” she said. “There are some days when you just do your job, but any time you can mentor students it’s a huge reward.”
Judd-Murray is originally from Warship, Utah, which is about seven miles from Park City. She said that in the ‘80s, while she was growing up, Park City was just “an Albertsons and a Pizza Hut,” so she was used to a small town. She is the oldest of four girls and was scared to move to Logan alone, but said that she has made lifelong friends here.
“Great things happened here. It was an easy choice to keep coming back,” Judd-Murray said.
In the Fall semester, Judd-Murray will start as assistant professor for the School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education at USU. She said that ultimately she decided to be a professor in Logan because of the students, the community and her coworkers.
“I have three kids now and we like it here,” Judd-Murray said. “I love to be in the classroom and hear people laugh and then I’m laughing and we are just comfortable, and if that happens I can check off a box and say that was a good semester.”
Former student Alyssa Cods said that she loved Judd-Murray’s class because it was important information given in a way that didn’t feel like a lecture.
“Sure, we had assignments, but Rose cared that each of us were retaining the information and excited about the information,” Cods said.
Judd-Murray said her advice for students is “if you’re struggling, let someone know.”
“Professors care, and it is hard for us to know unless you tell us,” Judd-Murray said. “As faculty, we have to recognize that sometimes we can save ourselves a lot of headache by helping the students. Health and stress challenges matter to me.”
She also stressed the importance of writing everything down and just doing one’s best.
“Best doesn’t mean you will get an A, but if that’s your best, I can accept that and so should you. That’s your best; don’t feel shame.”
Judd-Murray’s goals, which include finishing her doctorate degree and trying to not be a perfectionist, line up with this philosophy.
“At some point we are taught to believe that perfectionism exists. Perfection is unattainable, and I want to look at each semester and ask myself, ‘what is it I can do to do my best?’ and leave it there,” Judd-Murray said. “I want to be okay with my best effort and realize that perfect people aren’t the only ones who get happiness and fulfillment. Also, awards don’t always equal success. The dollar amount in your research and grants don’t equal success.”
Judd-Murray also believes that food, clothing and shelter are fundamental rights and that we can do “a whole lot better as a human race” to make sure everyone feels valued.
“It’s very important to me to be able to sit across from people with different opinions and have that not affect how I treat them or my own beliefs,” she said. “It’s a challenge to learn that disagreement doesn’t have to amount to hate. I do get mad. Injustice makes me crazy. I try really hard in my classes to limit my opinions. There are some classes that it behooves a professor to explain opinions, but I teach science so I try to deliver facts.”
Judd-Murray strives to make the world a better place, even if it’s just one class, or student, at a time. Sometimes she may imagine the world the way it is in a Dolly Parton song where “the sky is green, and the grass is blue” as she goes to work each day asking, “What would Dolly do?”
—erickwood97@gmail.com
@GrahamWoodMedia