Three Rockhurst University Alumni To Be Honored Sept. 22 For Career Achievements, Community Contributions

A man whose efforts have helped save more than a hundred lives, an emerging professional in Kansas City, and a global business leader will all be honored as part of  Rockhurst University’s annual alumni awards luncheon Saturday, Sept. 22.

Since the diagnosis of four of his grandsons with the same rare blood disease, John Murry, ’55, has been involved in a family effort to organize bone marrow registration drives, resulting in more than a thousand donor matches and 115 live-saving bone marrow transplants. He also distinguished himself throughout a five-decade career in elementary, secondary and higher education, Murry served in roles ranging from elementary school teacher to the president of three Kansas colleges and in those positions undertook leadership positions in numerous community service organizations. Murry will receive the Xavier Medal of Honor, given to an alumnus or alumna who exemplifies the Jesuit tradition of “service for and with others” in their communities.

Nick Suarez, ’08, is a rising real estate professional and civic leader, having been named one of the “Top 20 in their 20s” by Ingram’s Magazine in 2015. Suarez serves as a board member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Chamber of Commerce, and is a 2017 graduate of the Centurions Leadership Program through the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. This year’s Faber Young Alumni Award winner, a recognition of his outstanding accomplishments, Suarez is the current senior managing director of Newmark Grubb Zimmer commercial real estate firm, responsible for sales and leasing of office properties as well as nationwide buyer and tenant representation services.

As a leader in one of the nation’s largest telecommunications providers, Rich Shaw, ’88, ’92 MBA, has made an indelible mark in his industry. Currently the vice president for voice and collaboration product management at AT&T, Shaw leads a team responsible for all business voice, collaboration and unified communications products offered in AT&T’s business market segments, a customer base of more than 3.5 million businesses of all sizes. Prior to his current position, Shaw led the cybersecurity operations team, made up of more than 600 employees across four continents, who managed AT&T’s customer facing-security products. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with his family. Shaw will receive the St. Ignatius Award, designed to honor an alumnus or alumna who has made significant achievements in their field or endeavor.

The awards luncheon is scheduled for noon on Saturday, Sept. 22, in the Greenlease Library on the Rockhurst University campus, part of the University’s Family and Alumni Weekend Sept. 21-23. For more information, visit rockhurst.edu/weekend.