Franklin Murphy Service Thursday on UCLA Campus

The Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden at UCLA will be the site of a reception Thursday following a 5 p.m. memorial service at the school’s Wight Art Gallery Plaza. Murphy, a former chancellor of UCLA and former chairman and chief executive officer of Times Mirror Co., died June 16 of cancer at the age of 78.

The garden was named in Murphy’s honor after he established it on a flat, barren area of campus with a donated art collection.

“It didn’t take him long to put two or three people together to achieve a gift to UCLA of 50 to 70 sculptures,” Lee Wolcott, managing director of the Ahmanson Foundation, recalled with some amusement earlier this year. “And his attitude was that these pieces should go out into the landscape environment to be a central hub where students could meditate. Today it’s a wonderful, tranquil spot on campus. . . . It is a wonderful living tribute to him.”

Known for his deft networking to promote art, rare books and philanthropy, as well as education and business, Murphy was an active board member and adviser to the Ahmanson Foundation, among other groups.

Parking for both the memorial service and the reception will be available at UCLA Structure 3 on Hilgard Avenue near Sunset Boulevard.

Any memorial contributions in Murphy’s honor can be made to the UCLA Foundation (Murphy Memorial), 21520 University Research Library, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles 90024-1575.