The GW Hatchet editorial board elected Richard Murphy, current editorial editor, as its editor in chief for the 2000-2001 school year.

Murphy was born in West New York, N.J., and grew up in Mount Pocono, Pa.

He is a history major with a minor in human services.

Murphy must be confirmed by the Hatchet’s Board of Directors in late April or early May. He said he is looking forward to the responsibilities his new job will entail.

I think I bring a unique perspective to the position of editor in chief, he said.

He served as assistant sports editor sophomore year and editorial editor this year. He said he is prepared to lead the paper in the right direction.

As editorial editor, I didn’t have a byline, so I might not have gotten all the praise that went with a byline, he said.

Current Editor in Chief Dustin Gouker said Murphy is well-suited to take over the reins of the paper.

Rich has been a hard-worker since he started here, Gouker said. I am sure his work ethic will carry over and lead him to great things in his new position.

Murphy prides himself on being active in many parts of the GW community. He was on the crew team sophomore year.

I understand what it means to be a student athlete and the challenges therein, he said.

He also participates in the AmeriCorps program and has volunteered in the Foggy Bottom community through the GW Neighbors Project for the past three years.

I’ve seen the other side, as far as the outside community is concerned, Murphy said.

Murphy is also a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, which he said is a good group of guys, some of whom I’ve known since I’ve been at GW. It’s been nothing but a positive experience.

A transfer student from the University of Scranton, Murphy said his former school couldn’t be more different from GW.

Murphy said The Hatchet is going to have a variety of tasks to address for next year.

I want to try and break the perception of The Hatchet as an ivory tower, he said.

He also said another challenge The Hatchet will face is a young staff next year.

We’re going to need to focus on teamwork, enthusiasm, and returning editors have a responsibility to mentor the incoming editors, he said.

Murphy said he looks for the paper to make a conscious effort to go outside the traditional lines to pursue broader coverage.

Murphy said his father, who died in March 1999, first sparked his interest in newspapers and journalism.

I got interested in newspapers from my dad, he said. Literally, my first memories are of him reading the Sunday New York Times.