Former Chairman of the Board, Murray Hutchison, Passed Away

Murray H. Hutchison, a former chair of the Webb Board of Trustees who was instrumental in the founding of Vivian Webb School and whose generosity created the Mary S. Hutchison Center and Dormitory, has passed away.

Hutchison was 83 years old.

“Murray led Webb during a critical time in our history,” Head of Schools Taylor B. Stockdale said. “His depth of knowledge and love of Webb helped to strengthen our school significantly. He will be truly missed.”

As with many trustees, Hutchison’s time at Webb started as a parent with four of his sons attending Webb: Chris ’80, Andrew ’86, Eric ’87 and Kevin ’89. He became chair of the board in 1984 and held that post until 1990.

At Webb, Hutchison helped lead the first major campaign in Webb’s history. In 1986, he and his brother John (parent of Stuart ’83) made a large gift to the schools to build the Mary N. Hutchison Center & Dorm in memory of their mother. Hutchison Dorm is now home to nearly 60 students, split between Webb School of California and Vivian Webb School.

The building also houses Webb’s art studio and digital arts studio.

Hutchison’s leadership at Webb was founded on his expertise in business.

He attended UC Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of Science in economics, followed by Bachelor of Business Administration in foreign trade from the American Graduate School of International Management. He had a distinguished career with the IT Group serving for 27 years before retiring in 1997 as chairman and chief executive officer. The group is one of the world’s largest engineering and construction companies. Hutchison also worked for a predecessor company starting in 1964, helping to boost company sales nearly eightfold.

He continued to be active in business after leaving ITT. In 1999, he became chief executive officer and chairman of the board for Sunrise Medical, a medical equipment manufacturer. He reorganized the company, which was sold to private investors in 2000 at a price well above its publicly traded value.

He also served as CEO and chairman of TEPPCO, one of the nation’s largest pipeline companies, and as a trustee of the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute Board, as chairman of the board of Huntington Hotel Corporation and Research Design, Inc., as well as on the board of directors for Jack in the Box, Cadiz, Inc., The Olson Company and the San Diego Zoo Global Foundation.

Murray Hutchison will be missed by all who knew him. We send our deepest condolences to his family.