UW-Milwaukee student and entrepreneur Adam Murphy is using knowledge learned from attending classes at UWM to win the race for State Senate District 28.
Murphy is running as the only Democrat in the primarily GOP-held district which encompasses Greenfield, Greendale, Muskego, Vernon, Franklin and some of Waterford. Sen. Dave Craig, another UW-Milwaukee graduate, announced he will not run for re-election in the upcoming August 11 primary election. Sen. Craig ran unopposed as a Republican in the November 2016 general election.
While Murphy said he isn’t pursuing a specific degree from UW-Milwaukee during his second stint of being a student at the university, he is taking classes aimed at giving him insight into disciplines he feels are important for politicians to know about.
“I’m an IT guy,” said Murphy, owner of BIG BANG LLC, an IT consulting and training firm. “I’m an instructor. I’m not going for a degree, but rather I’ve had, you know, just an incredible opportunity. UW has been wonderfully cooperative to really delve into classes.”
His classes at UW-Milwaukee in philosophy, political science, ethics and persuasion not only gave him tools to better navigate the open seas of politics and weather its storms but also gave him the opportunity to engage with multiple generations in those classes.
Talking to many of his younger classmates helped him better understand what they care about and challenged many of his beliefs. His second time around taking classes at UWM, nearly 30 years after his first time, has given him much more knowledge than any of the classes he took in his formative years, even when he got ABs in economics at UW-Madison.
All of his classes until the Spring 2020 semester have been online, but Murphy thinks the classroom setting is great for facilitating a dialogue between more than just different generations of people online or in-person. He thinks being able to speak candidly with other students about issues they feel are important and know a lot about is critical to having real debates about topics instead of just arguments.
The persuasion class he took as part of his self-developed curriculum will be particularly helpful in his political endeavors.
“To have a good debate requires understanding your own opinion and the facts and the data and the analysis and the logic that goes behind it,” said Murphy. “But it also requires you understand your opponents, which is going to make your argument better and maybe you find that your argument isn’t right or isn’t great.”
Aside from interacting with his classmates, Murphy said talking to instructors about advice or new ideas has also been helpful.
Murphy said now that he is 48-years-old and has much more life experience than he did in his early-20s, he is more motivated to take advantage of all the opportunities and help UWM offers its students. Whether it be help with homework, discussing ethical issues or connecting students with helpful people, Murphy said the faculty and students at UWM have helped him grow through every step.
Fellow UWM students aren’t the only people Murphy has spoken with about issues state government should be responsible for. He also texts with at least one of his Republican opponents, Julian Bradley, to foster a less partisan dialogue and understand all voters rather than just one party.
Murphy enjoys scuba diving and underwater photography with his wife, which he hasn’t been able to do since the coronavirus pandemic. He and his wife also enjoy playing their hands at online poker for more socially distanced fun.