Sterling M. McMurrin, who served as U.S. Commissioner of Education under Pres. John F. Kennedy and was a noted philosopher and Mormon scholar, died Saturday of heart failure at the age of 82.
Dr. McMurrin committed his life to establishing the University of Utah as a major institution of higher education and encouraging freedom and vitality in the LDS Church, his family said.Dr. McMurrin was appointed Commissioner of Education in February 1961 and warned frequently of both mentally and physically "soft" and "flabby" schools, demanding quality teaching and quality pay for teachers. He was an advocate for school integration and spoke out against excessive involvement of the federal government in education. He resigned from the position 18 months later to return to teaching philosophy at the University of Utah.
Dr. McMurrin began teaching in 1945 at the University of Southern California and came to the U. in 1948. In 1954, he was named Dean of the College of Letters and Science and in 1960 was named academic vice president at the U.
After his return from Washington, D.C., Dr. McMurrin was appointed the E.E. Erickson Distinguished Professor of Philosophy in 1964 and became the first Provost in the history of the school. From 1966 to 1978, he served as Dean of the Graduate School but retired a short while after, again to return to teaching.
Dr. McMurrin has several published works to his credit, writing and speaking frequently on Mormonism and philosophy. A biography on Dr. McMurrin entitled, "Matters of Conscience: Conversations with Sterling McMurrin on Philosophy, Education and Religion," by McMurrin and L. Jackson Newell is due to be published in November.
In 1976, he was instrumental in arranging the release of two political prisoners in Chile. He was appointed to numerous education boards including the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and was president of the Utah Conference on Higher Education.
Funeral services for McMurrin will be held at noon on Thursday, April 11, at the Monument Park 15th Ward, 1320 S. Wasatch Drive, in Salt Lake City. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Obert C. And Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the U.