Meet Ted Moore

W. Ted Moore will join Georgia Southern as its new provost and vice president for academic affairs on April 1, 2011. As the University’s top academic administrator, Moore is charged with overseeing and advancing the interests of undergraduate, graduate, and professional education on campus.

He comes to Georgia Southern from the University of South Carolina (USC), where he served as vice president of finance and planning and chief financial officer. During his distinguished 24-year career at USC, Moore also served as interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, vice president for planning, vice provost for academic affairs, and associate provost for budget and operations.

As he prepared to assume his role as provost, Moore offered some thoughts on the task ahead.

GS: As a candidate, and based on the interview process, what were some of your impressions of Georgia Southern?

MOORE: “Georgia Southern is a gem. My impression of the institutional culture – its soul, if you will – is well reflected in some words that appear in the strategic plan: Integrity, Civility, Kindness. These are more than words. They are core values that have guided and will guide us, even through difficult times. As I walked the campus and spoke with students, staff and faculty on my interview trip, it became clear that these values are truly embraced by all.
In terms of the learning environment, I was struck by the ‘large scale, small feel’ of the campus. The University is student-centered and has a strong ethos that emphasizes dedicated teaching. I sense our students and alumni recognize, value and appreciate our strongly dedicated faculty. The University is maneuvering already to expand its mission of research and scholarship. Significant discoveries by our faculty, students and alumni are capturing national attention: e.g., Camp Lawton (archaeological study of a Civil War stockade near Millen, Ga.). And with respect to the physical infrastructure, it is evident that Georgia Southern is a planned community that has had much attention devoted to keeping it well-maintained, safe and conducive to our mission.”

GS: What are some goals and initiatives you have in mind for the University?

MOORE: “When I came to campus for an interview, I was asked to share a vision for Georgia Southern. In my address to faculty and staff, I invited them to join me on an imaginary journey through time. We visited the year 2015, and we saw Georgia Southern enjoying a national reputation as a student-centered university, among the first-choice institutions for the state’s brightest students who cherish the ‘large scale, small feel’ setting. Readers may recognize this as the overlaying vision statement in the strategic agenda that serves as President Keel’s guidance for a new, comprehensive strategic plan.

Here’s a fuller description of our destination:

• We exhibit excellence on all dimensions of our mission Ð we teach, we discover, and we serve, with distinction;
• We promote student success in and outside the classroom; before and following graduation;
• Our research, scholarship and creative achievement efforts are vigorous and visible;
• Our resources Ð including financial support, people, information and physical infrastructure – are sufficient to support our mission well, and on a sustained basis.
• These are simple-sounding, but powerful statements, and while they may mean slightly different things to different members of the Georgia Southern family, they are valued by all of us. As we continue the strategic planning process, we will articulate more specific initiatives to help guide us toward this vision.”

GS: What makes you passionate about higher education?

MOORE: “Six years ago, when I was considering moving from faculty to university administration at South Carolina, I met with my predecessor, an associate provost named John, on a number of occasions. Most of our meetings were about learning the ropes and how to get things done at the university. But one day, in a philosophical mood, John said to me, ‘You know, the job of university administrators is to assemble the resources that allow us to bring faculty and students together so that magic happens.’ I adopted John’s unforgettable words as a guiding principle. And he had it right. Bring faculty and students together and magic will happen. I was looking for signs of ‘magic’ at Georgia Southern and found it.

Magic happens when students and faculty come together to help build better lives, lives guided by knowledge and strong values like integrity, civility, kindness. Magic happens when we see those same students join the ranks of successful, fulfilled citizens. And magic happens when we see our former students pass along the values and knowledge they gained at Georgia Southern to future generations. What we do in higher education lives on, long after we are gone – we produce the future.”

GS: If you could have any job outside of higher education, what would that be?

MOORE: “The aspects of higher education that attract me would also guide me in choosing another profession. I would enjoy working in finance, hel

ping to build commerce by assembling capital to fund investment. Help firms grow and prosper, thereby producing jobs and careers.”

GS: What are some activities you enjoy outside of your professional life?

MOORE: “I read history, science, biographies, economics and finance, and occasionally philosophy. My wife Linda and I enjoy spending time aboard our boat. We don’t fish – we delight in the natural beauty of rivers, marshes and the sea. We also enjoy plays and concerts. Linda has enriched me in numerous ways, and among them is in giving me an appreciation for the performing arts.”

GS: If you had one bit of advice for Georgia Southern underclassmen, what would that be?

MOORE: “Stretch yourselves by venturing into unexplored territory. Now is the time in life to do this. Participate in study abroad. Learn another culture, another language.”