Heath Murray

About Heath Murray

Heath spent almost a decade as a police officer before leaving law enforcement to finish a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Security and joining the Department of Defense (DoD) as a contractor in 2015. In 2017, He joined Artisan Electronics, Inc. and quickly moved into a management role and began overseeing the company’s internal IT department and served as a Program Manager on contract under General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) leadership at NSWC Crane. Currently, Heath is the Director of Industry Partnerships in the Central Office at Purdue University, where he leads efforts to grow strategic collaborations across defense, industry, and academia, with a particular focus on the DoD and national security portfolio. In this role, he works to connect Purdue’s research strengths and innovation capacity with partners across Indiana, the Midwest, and beyond.He is also one of the founders of the Bloomington chapter of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF) and was the DEF2020 Conference Director and was a Mitch Daniels Leadership Fellow in the 2020/2021 class.Heath founded and served as Executive Director of the Defense Innovation Networking Group (D!NG), a regionally focused initiative 501(c)(3). Under his leadership, D!NG established itself as an ‘interstate network of connections” across the globe for defense businesses, universities, and federal stakeholders, facilitating millions in DoD-related opportunities into Indiana.He earned his Master’s degree in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship with a focus on Complex Negotiations from Penn State University. His research was focused on “Building the Midwest Defense Ecosystem.” Heath plans on pursuing his Doctorate when he can figure out what he wants to focus on for research.When Heath is not working or in school, he is an avid metalhead and fantasy nerd playing and DM\'ing in multiple Dungeons and Dragons campaigns (which his wife swears he didn\'t tell her about either before they were married); reading, writing, drawing, and golf; and spending time with his wife, daughter, and their two dogs.He is currently working on his first fantasy novel for publication.

Experience

1. Director of Industry Partnerships

   Purdue University Office Of Industry Partnerships

   Sep 2025 — Present

Education

• Penn State University

  Masters of Management, Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship / Complex Negotiations

• American Military University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance