Odyssey Fields | Staff Writer
After serving as Norfolk State University president for a year, Eddie N. Moore Jr. is retiring.
The university’s sixth president fulfilled the promise he made when he first took office: to clean up Norfolk State’s academic slate.
NSU had been on academic probation. Its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, cited administrative shortcomings and shoddy bookkeeping when it put Norfolk State on warning in 2013 and probation a year later.
After two years of patient work by Moore and others in the administration, SACS restored Norfolk State to good standing.
Moore released his retirement statement to faculty, staff and students Sept. 25.
He previously served NSU as an interim president for three years. After signing his two-year contract, President Moore swiftly tackled the issues the university faced.
With more than 40 years of experience, Moore has conquered a variety of challenges that stood in the path of his journey at NSU.
After gaining back its accreditation, Moore worked on Norfolk’s “institutional integrity.” His three goals were improving graduation rates, increasing the amount of enrollment for students and flourishing the culture of accountability at NSU.
“NSU is a great institution that will come back greater. Whomever takes over for Mr. Moore will hopefully fulfill the legacy of NSU,” said Victoria Balogun, an NSU sophomore mass communications major.
Since 2013, the university’s rankings have greatly increased, leaving NSU ranked at No. 27 for HBCU listings. In the 2016-2017 enrollment year, admitted students increased to almost 5,000 students.
Moore also has increased funding for the Cybersecurity Workforce. On Jan. 16, 2015, Norfolk State University received a $25 million grant from U.S National Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
The grant allows students majoring in cybersecurity to be properly trained and help develop the university’s cybersecurity workforce. The $25 million grant was only the start to strengthening NSU’s financial support.
In July 2016, NSU received $5 million in grant money for renewable research. Leading into March of 2017, Norfolk raises an additional $1 million from the National Science Department, toward the STEM program.
A portion of the money went toward upgrading the laboratory and experiment equipment used throughout the science department. The grant also helped to support tuition for four undergraduate students attending NSU. In addition to the grant, the number of students within the STEM program increased.
“NSU will continue to prosper as a university,” NSU freshman marketing major Tatyanna Taylor said, “but President Moore will be missed.”
The Hampton Script 