LEADERSHIP
9
the achievement of the Aspen Prize for excellence among
community colleges, signifying it as the best among the 1,100
colleges in the country.
On July 22, the board of trustees selected Moore from 80
candidates, awarding him an annual salary of $365,000.
Trustees cited Moore’s diverse background in selecting him.
“Dr. Moore comes to IRSC with an impressive history and
track record as an innovative thinker, inspiring and collaborative
leader, and experienced executive, all necessary qualities
to guide our college into the future,” trustee chairman José
Conrado said.
Moore and Robin, his wife of 35 years and sweetheart since
high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, are renting a place
on North Hutchinson Island while they decide where to live
on the Treasure Coast. They are the parents of three grown
sons: Christopher, a physician living in Mississippi; Nicholas,
a faculty member at LaGrange College in Georgia; and Johnathon,
a doctoral student at Auburn.
Indian River Magazine Publisher Gregory Enns sat down
with Moore at his office just a few days after Moore’s arrival
at the college to talk about the job ahead of him.
Q: What are your initial thoughts about Indian River
State College and the Treasure Coast?
A: Wonderful on both accounts. The college has been just
so open and welcoming and warm and excited about my arrival.
They were sad to see Dr. Massey go, but have been just
been so welcoming to my wife and me. We’re just excited to
be here … delighted with regard to the Treasure Coast.
Q: How are you finding things so far?
A: I’m trying to gain a lot of knowledge very quickly on
the college itself and on the cabinet members, the deans and
directors and the students. Then you have COVID on top of
all that. So I’m trying to get out to meet people and ask questions.
As I told the board during my interview, “I will spend
several months trying to get oriented as to what we do very
well and what we need to improve upon and to understand
how the ebb and flow of the process works.’’ Every new job
in my life has always been basically learning a new vocabulary
and learning a new culture. And so the Florida college
system has its own vocabulary and its own metrics of how it
performs. And then I’ll be learning our customs and cultures
here within IRSC. Every day for me is filled with curiosity
and wondering and questions. There’s a good solid foundation
TIMOTHY MOORE TIMELINE
EDUCATION
1981-85: Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina,
bachelor’s degree in biology
1989-91: North Carolina State University, 1989-91,
medical laboratory science, biology/microbiology
2011-13: Auburn University, doctorate degree in kinesiology
CAREER
1985-92: Army officer/active duty
1992-95: Research scientist, Battle Memorial Institute,
Columbus, Ohio
1996-98: Market sector manager, Department of Energy,
Richland, Washington
1998-2003: Director of Institute for Biological Detection
Systems and director of Federal Research Program
Development at the College of Veterinary Medicine,
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
2003-06: Liaison to Department of Homeland Security in
Anniston, Alabama
2006-08: Director of Federal Research Program
Development, Kansas State, Kansas
2008-13: Director of Federal Research Program
Development at Auburn University College of Veterinary
Medicine
2013-15: Associate vice president for Institutional
Advancement and Research Program Development,
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn,
Alabama
2015-2019: Vice president for Research, Florida A&M
University, Tallahassee, Florida
2017-present: Co-founder and chief science officer,
Probaxstra Inc.
2019-May 2020: Senior vice president, Ventech Solutions Inc.
May 2020-August 2020: Chief science officer, MagPlasma
to build from here at the college.
Q: It’s a tough job and you have a big role to fill.
A: I’m following Elvis. Think about that. I’m behind a guy
who was here for 32 years as the boss. Everyone who is here
in senior leadership … he had a direct hand in the hiring and
shaping and development of them professionally. And so
I’m indebted to Dr. Massey, without a doubt. And as I told
the board, and I told Dr. Massey directly, “You don’t replace
Elvis. You just have to kind of forge your own pathway.’’ It’s
difficult because everybody always compares you to the predecessor.
You’ve got a guy who did Herculean things around
here in building the campus, literally from a small campus to
a large campus with a large student enrollment. So I’m just
trying to try to navigate and not mess up his legacy. At the
same time I’m trying to forge a direction for the college that
will sustain it into the future.
Q: You’re coming here at a difficult time. The model for
student learning is changing and the coronavirus pandemic
is accelerating the trend toward online education. How are
you going to deal with that?
A: Dr. Massey and the leadership team here have done a
wonderful job in online education, so the college was very capable
of doing a seamless transition from didactic classroom
to online learning. And right now about 65 or so percent of
>>
Moore has been making a whirlwind tour of the college’s four campuses
since his arrival. Here, he meets with Chris Puorro, manager of IRSC’s public
radio station WQCS, which is on the main campus in Fort Pierce.