Northeastern honors late CBA dean’s legacy

At a memorial last week, Northeastern remembered Thomas Moore, former dean of the College of Business Administration (CBA), who left a powerful legacy of visionary and innovative leadership at the university. Moore passed away in June.

The ceremony, attended by more than 200 people including university leaders, alumni and members of Moore’s family, was held in the Fenway Center on Thursday afternoon.

A graduate of Northeastern’s MBA program, Moore joined the CBA faculty in 1975 and held several administrative roles, including associate dean and then acting dean. He went on to serve in leadership positions at Babson College and the Arthur D. Little School of Management before returning to Northeastern in 2004 to become CBA’s dean.

Informing his vision was an exceptional understanding of management education from the ground up: He taught marketing and management courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and was published widely on innovations in management curricula. 

Moore committed CBA to the mission of developing leaders who would shape the future of important organizations. He achieved this by targeting resources toward attracting and retaining exceptional students and faculty.

He established the Faculty Fellow Program in August 2005 to provide additional research and teaching resources to distinguished academic leaders who greatly enrich learning experiences for students and enhance the reputation of the college and university.

To honor that part of Moore’s legacy, the university has established the Thomas E. Moore Faculty Fellow in the College of Business Administration. This Faculty Fellow will ensure the continuity of vision, commitment to the pursuit of excellence and leadership principles that Moore exemplified throughout his career at Northeastern University. 

Moore also expanded the full-time faculty by 40 percent, helped establish an endowed chair and more than 20 faculty fellowships, and was key to the establishment of CBA’s Center for Emerging Markets, which has given the college a strong voice in issues around the world’s fastest-growing business markets.

As dean, Moore recognized that students must be prepared to lead in a complex global economy. He spearheaded the development of programs aligned with the changing needs of global business, such as the Bachelor of Science in International Business program and the Social Enterprise Institute, both leading programs.

He consistently sought to provide opportunities for working professionals who want to advance their studies, by designing and launching an online MBA program that today is recognized as one of the world’s best.