A Legacy of Love: Dr. Kathleen Moore Honors Her Mother With the USF WLP Elsie A. Moore Scholarship

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Elsie A. Moore eventually attend college. Moore did just that, becoming the first family member of her generation to enjoy higher education when she attended Durham University in England. Her mother couldn’t have been any prouder, because college had never been an option for her. “My mother was a very responsible and successful person,” Moore says. “I don’t think she had many regrets in life – she was optimistic and forward-looking, as I hope I am. But as she got into her 80s, she talked more about her childhood and it came to my attention that one of the things she was wistful about was not having the opportunity to attend college.” Instead, it was Elsie’s older sister who was given that chance, since the family could only afford to send one child to college. As the youngest of three sisters, Elsie had to stay home and get a job to supplement the family income – essentially helping support her older sister’s college education. “That’s just the way families did it back then,” Moore says. “So she didn’t resent it, but she always felt deep in her heart that she was the smartest of the sisters. And she wished she could have had the same chance at a college education.” When Elsie passed away, Moore knew exactly how she wanted to honor her mother’s legacy as a bright, independent and hardworking woman. After dividing her mom’s estate with her sister, she set about creating and funding the Elsie A. Moore Memorial Scholarship. Established under the umbrella of Women in Leadership & Philanthropy, the scholarship would provide deserving students with financial aid, and allow them to pursue their college dreams. Kathleen with mother Elsie and sister Christine Initially, Moore had planned to endow a scholarship at her alma mater, Durham. But a friend in Tampa made her think twice, saying, “You know, Kathleen, if you do that, all you’re going to do is write checks. But if you give the money to USF, you can be part of the process and know the people who get the scholarships.” Moore liked the idea of supporting the university that had become such a big part of her life – a life that had taken an unexpected turn in her early 20s with a move to the United States, and, suddenly, a new home in Tampa, Florida. Moore had just graduated from college in England with a degree in French and German, and she jumped at the chance to move to Germany to teach English as a second language. That’s how she met and married a man stationed abroad with the U.S. Air Force. Several years later, after the couple moved to a U.S. post in Turkey, he was transferred to MacDill Air Force Base – and Moore’s life soon changed in dramatic fashion. In no time, she landed a job with Hillsborough County Public Schools as a guidance counselor. While her professional career flourished, her personal life took a painful twist when her marriage ended. But MacDill
AFB, ironically, would remain a focal point for Moore. She found work there teaching in the base education program, holding the position for a decade. During that period, she completed her doctorate at USF and applied for a job in the university provost’s office. “They hired me, and I spent 22 years there, doing all kinds of different jobs,” she says. “I came in as a coordinator and ended up as an associate vice president. It’s funny, because young women at WLP events often ask about my career path, and I have to roll my eyes, because it really was more like a career stumble. “The way that it turned out, it just seemed that every time I started to get bored and thinking I needed to look for something else, some new great opportunity would come along at USF.” During her tenure, Moore oversaw continuing education and distance learning at USF, developing online courses and training faculty to teach over the Web. She became a point person in crucial re-accreditation with the SACS Commission on Colleges, and handled a multitude of other challenging projects. Eventually, in 2011, USF President Judy Genshaft put Moore in charge of a massive new project: overseeing the transformation of USF and the separately accredited institutions of USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota Manatee (and, at the time, USF Lakeland) into the USF System. “There needed to be some type of over-arching administrative structure and it was becoming very complex,” Moore recounts. “So that was my job for my final three years with USF.” Moore’s decision to retire in 2014 felt right to her. She and her second husband, who had retired several years earlier, would now have time to travel. And she could also pursue her plans for a new vocation, training to become a deacon in the Episcopal Church. But she still works two days a week at USFSP to prepare for an accreditation report, and remains highly active with WLP. She initially became aware of the organization in its infant stages after Julie Gillespie of the USF Foundation suggested she establish her scholarship in the growing WLP, and encouraged Moore to become part of the program. Front row: Rhea Law, Kathleen Moore, Carol Morsani, Betty Castor; Back Row: Ashley Ehrman, India Witte, Linda Simmons and Pam Muma “My perception at first was that it was a group of wealthy women donors having lunch every once in a while with the President,” she says. “But you can be very wrong about things when you make assumptions. Helping with WLP turned out to be very exciting. I soon found myself on the executive committee, working with people who have really inspired me – like Carol Morsani, Karen Dalton, Betty Castor, Cindy Kane and so many more.” Moore eventually served as WLP’s chair for two years, and continues to feel deeply gratified by the experience – as well as by the students who have been helped by her scholarship. “It’s just wonderful for me,” she says. “It allows me to help students in a meaningful way, and stay connected with a university that has been such a big part of my life.” And celebrate the legacy of a loving, hard-working mom, who helped pave her daughter’s path through a life of endless possibilities.
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A Legacy of Love: Dr. Kathleen Moore Honors Her Mother With the USF WLP Elsie A. Moore Scholarship

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