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Melissa Murphy
Founder at The Pitch Academy, Lecturer at McCombs School of Business
Dr. Melissa Murphy is the Founder and Chief Communication Coach of The Pitch Academy, as well as an award-winning teacher and scholar in organizational communication and technology.12 She is currently an Assistant Professor of Instruction and Director of Undergraduate Entrepreneurship at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.2
Academic Background and Achievements
Dr. Murphy holds a BA in Communication from the University of Cincinnati, and an MA and Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from The University of Texas at Austin.2 She has received multiple awards for her teaching, including:
- Most Outstanding Graduate Teacher in the State of Texas by the Speech Communication Association
- Assistant Instructor of the Year by the Department of Communication
- Four-time recipient of the Faculty Honor Roll Award at McCombs
- Two-time recipient of the Amplify Award for Diversity and Inclusion2
Professional Experience
At the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Murphy teaches courses in:
- Business communication
- Negotiation
- Entrepreneurship
- Professional communication skills
- Nonverbal communication
- Organizational communication12
She has also held teaching positions in the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization program since 2012 and conducts workshops for Texas Executive Education.2
Research and Publications
Dr. Murphy has published work on various topics, including:
- Web conferencing in the classroom
- International crisis communication
- Interviewing
- Communication pedagogy
- Health communication
- Professionalism for recent college graduates2
The Pitch Academy
Founded in September 2014, The Pitch Academy is a communication consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and professionals improve their pitching skills for various scenarios, including interviews, networking, and investor presentations.23
Additional Roles and Initiatives
- Selected to teach in the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (2019)
- Helped launch the first chapter of The Women's Network at The University of Texas (2020)
- Assisted in launching Texas Epsilon Nu Tau, the nation's first entrepreneurship fraternity (2021)
- Became faculty sponsor for Texas Momentum (2022)2
Prior to her academic career, Dr. Murphy worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, holding positions in digital sales and marketing at Universal Music Group.12

