A Servant’s Heart

The world has changed drastically since Gary Moore, Ph.D., RN, began teaching at Oakland University’s School of Nursing (SON) in August 1981.

But Dr. Moore’s passion for nursing, commitment to students and dedication to the SON and its faculty and staff never wavered.

A graduate of Wayne State University’s College of Nursing Ph.D. program, Dr. Moore first became intrigued in OU while talking with his fellow Wayne State doctoral students, who were working at OU.

“Their descriptions of the environment and the SON made me want to work there,” Dr. Moore says.

And that he did—for 40 years. Four decades of service led him to transition from assistant professor in 1981, to associate professor in 1988, to associate dean in 2011, to interim dean in 2014, to associate dean again in 2016—and then associate professor yet again in 2018 until he retired on August 16, 2021.

“Forty years is not common in academia,” states Dr. Sarah Newton, associate professor. “He has a very giving, caring spirit, as he thinks about everyone else first.”

With his servant’s heart, Dr. Moore was actively involved in virtually every aspect of the SON during his career. As associate dean, he was instrumental in ensuring the SON received continuing accreditation through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). He also helped develop the Ph.D. program the SON now offers.

In addition, Dr. Moore served on the OU committee that worked with architects and contractors as the Human Health Building (the new home of the SON) was developed. He also initially assigned office space for faculty and staff and worked with colleagues in the School of Health Sciences to solve spacing issues after both schools transitioned into the building.

Also renowned for his dedication to research, during the 1980s, Dr. Moore examined the impact that visual and auditory stimuli, in regards to music, has on the subjective experience of time.

Throughout the same decade, he also contributed to HIV/AIDS research while the disease was still a new phenomenon. And from the late 1990s to the early 2010s, he conducted a wide array of research related to nursing education.

“The findings that had the most impact were related to predictors of NCLEX-RN (nursing board exams) success, while also developing formulas for the usage of the GRE examination for graduate nursing programs,” he stresses.

Dr. Moore’s passion for service was widely noted throughout his OU career, as he was actively involved in most SON service activities as either a member or the chair of several committees. Furthermore, he was thoroughly involved in academic nursing accreditation, serving as an accreditation site visitor for both the National League for Nursing and the CCNE.

One of his greatest passions was his development and deployment of a two-week-long study abroad program (the SON’s first and, so far, only), in connection with Northern Italy’s University of Padova. Created in 2007, Dr. Moore continued to provide the program—which not only offered undergraduate students a required Nursing Research/Evidence Based Nursing Practice course, but also immersed them in Italian culture, as they were able to travel to Florence and Rome and experience Italian art, architecture and music firsthand—until 2019.

As the SON adapts to Dr. Moore’s absence and as he begins to enjoy the “fruits of retirement” (as he refers to them) by traveling, knitting and remaining involved with the CCNE through accreditation visits, his influence will continue to be recognized by everyone he impacted throughout his career.

“His support over the years was unmeasurable,” says Dr. Laura Pittiglio, associate professor. “I don’t think even he realized the impact he made—not only on me, but other faculty, staff and students.”

“Working with Gary was an honor,” adds Sarah Mullin, senior adviser, SON. “He truly cared, and he will truly be missed.”