A 1975 UT communications graduate, Lauren Murphy was the first African American station manager of WUOT. She joined the UT Public Relations staff in 1985 and was also the executive director of the UT Radio Center. Previously, she had been executive assistant to the Tennessee Commissioner of Human Services (Sammie Lynn Puett) and was a former news director. She initiated the popular jazz series cosponsored by WUOT and the Knoxville Museum of Art. She was a member of the 1992 Leadership Knoxville class and served on the executive board of the United Way Allocations Committee for several years. She also served on the board of directors of the Knoxville YMCA, the Discovery Center, and John Tarleton Children’s Home. She was secretary of the national organization Blacks in Public Radio. At UT she was active in Alpha Kappa Alpha service sorority and in the Society of Professional Journalists, and was named outstanding senior in broadcasting in 1975. She was a member of the Pride of the Southland and Concert Bands. She was also a member of the UT National Alumni Association Women’s Council and the Black Alumni Associates.