William J. Murphy SJ (October 20, 1895 – April 28, 1973) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was the president of Boston College from 1939 to 1945.

His tenure coincided with World War II, during which the school hosted soldiers in the Army Specialized Training Program.

[2][3] On August 15, 1939, Murphy was appointed to replace William J. McGarry, who left to lead a new Jesuit theological journal, as the president of Boston College.

[8] In October 1941, Boston College became the first school to participate in the federal government's Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program.

[9] After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Murphy; the president of the College of the Holy Cross, Joseph R. N. Maxwell; and the Jesuit provincial superior, James H. Dolan, decided to create an accelerated curriculum to allow students to complete their education in two years before being conscripted into the armed forces.

[10] In 1943, the school joined the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and St. Mary's Hall was converted from the Jesuit residence into barracks for 400 soldiers.

[12] The significantly reduced study body put a substantial financial strain on the college, requiring it to begin a fundraising campaign in 1944 to allow it to continue operating.

[5] The school's football team also excelled,[7] and Murphy celebrated the first Red Mass in Massachusetts on October 4, 1941, which was attended by many dignitaries.

[16] In September 1945, the school opened the Institute of Adult Education at Intown Center, which offered lectures in various courses, for which students did not receive academic credit.

He then left in 1952 to become the instructor of tertians at St. Robert Bellarmine Hall in Pomfret, Connecticut,[2] the tertianship center for the Jesuit province of New England.