The steady hand of Polly (Lewis) Murphy helped to guide the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts Alumni Association as the college evolved in 1974 to become the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. She was president of the Alumni Association from 1974-76. During the nation’s bicentennial year, she encouraged alumni to dedicated themselves to "unselfish service." Belonging to the USAO Alumni Association, she wrote, "is a rewarding means to touching the past, savoring the present, and building the future of our lives and the future of the university." Mrs. Murphy graduated from OCLA in 1969 with a degree in Spanish.