Patrick J. Murphy, Ph.D.Patrick J. Murphy, Ph.D., has been inducted as a United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Justin G. Longenecker Fellow, the highest recognition awarded by the organization. Murphy is the Goodrich Chair of Entrepreneurship, a professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham and director of the J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program.
“I’m thankful to USASBE for this recognition, profoundly grateful for the unwavering support of the UAB community in advancing entrepreneurship and deeply humbled to join the legacy-shaping tradition of our field through this once-in-a-career honor,” Murphy said.
USASBE is an organization committed to advancing entrepreneurship education. The Justin G. Longenecker Fellow recognition is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the benefit of small or medium businesses and reflect a passion for entrepreneurship in research, teaching and public service. Murphy is one of 98 fellows selected since 1986.
Murphy was inducted at the USASBE 2026 annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. According to USASBE, Murphy has advanced the field of entrepreneurship through his scholarship and by serving people and communities.
As the director of the Barefield Entrepreneurship Program at UAB, Murphy has contributed to the program’s growth since its launch. The program has secured more than $7 million in funding, expanded enrollment by 378 percent between 2020 and 2024, and earned recognition in 2022 as the top emerging university entrepreneurship program in the United States by USASBE.
Murphy is the historian for the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. Several of his articles have received major distinctions, including recognition among the most influential works in social entrepreneurship.