William Murdock was selected to lead MORPC. Murdock currently serves as chief of community services at the Ohio Development Services Agency where he heads up the state’s community programs concentrating on a variety of areas including redevelopment, energy efficiency and infrastructure.

MORPC began its search for a new leader in March after it abruptly terminated Chester Jourdan following a growing rift over differing organizational philosophies.

Murdock, who has served on and worked with a number of boards, said his experience will lend well to keeping communication open with MORPC’s board members.

“They will be my advocate and I will be theirs. We will work on these issues together. It’s just an exciting time,” Murdock said.

Murdock joins MORPC at a time when it has a lot of transportation projects underway.

“It points to one of the big issues that MORPC is going to be really continuing to engage in over the next year which is sustainability, both environmental sustainability, but also fiscal sustainability for communities, for transportation, and I think that’s going to be a big focus for us in the coming year.”

Murdock said his first job when he arrives at MORPC in January will be getting to know the commission’s membership.

“Get to know the region, the staff of MORPC, and really focus on what their needs [are] and making sure that MORPC is relevant and having impact for them.”

A Columbus native, Murdock holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University. He also is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Planners.