"Dr. Moore retires as President of Bethune-Cookman College after twenty eight successful years during which the physical plant of the college grew from $500,000 to more than $14,000,000 - a symbol of the college's growth in many other aspects."
Brother Richard Vernon Moore
One of the shining accomplishments of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune - educator, advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and champion of civil rights - was the establishment of a small liberal arts college in Daytona Beach, Florida. The legacy of Dr. Bethune lives on with the work of Bethune Cookman College. The 1967 "B-CEAN," the college yearbook, quotes her: "I leave you Love. I leave you Hope. I leave you a thirst for Education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you Faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you the desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you, finally, a responsibility to our young people." For the past 28 years. Dr. Richard Vernon Moore has made this creed a reality. On June 30, 1975, Brother Moore retired as President of Bethune-Cookman College - a post he had held since 1947. This edition of FOCUS is a tribute to this outstanding educator. 12
Richard Vernon Moore was born on November 20, 1906, in Quincy, Florida. He married the former Miss Beauford Jones in 1934 and from that union nine children were born five boys and four girls. He attended the elementary and junior schools of Quincy. He received his high school training at Albany State College, Albany, Georgia. He earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Knoxville College, Knoxville, Tennessee in 1932 and his Masters degree in Education from Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia in 1944. He matriculated to study for the Doctorate degree at New York University. Dr. Moore began his career as an educator as an instructor of Social Studies and Coach of Athletics at Pinellas High School, Clearwater, Florida (1932-34). He then became principal of Union Academy at Tarpon Springs, Florida (193437); principal of Booker T. Washington High School, Pensacola, Florida (1944-45); and from 1945 through 1947 he served as first Negro State Supervisor of Secondary Schools for Negros. In addition to his distinguished career as an educator, Brother Moore has given much of his time to work in civic, social and learned societies. He is a Trustee of Florida Southern College (Lakeland); Gammon Theological Seminary (Atlanta, GA); Lake Junaluska Assembly (North Carolina); and the Methodist Children's Home (Enterprise, FL). Marking another milestone in the southern business community, Dr. Moore was unanimously elected to the Board of Directors of Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., in January 1974. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, Jacksonville, Florida. He is a former member of the Planning Board of Daytona Beach, Florida; Past President of the Guidance Center and a member of the Halifax Hospital Board of Commissioners (Daytona Beach). He is secretary to the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, Inc.; a member of the General Council of Ministries; the Commission to study the Episcopacy, and the District Superintendency of the United Methodist Church and serves as the Lay Leader of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. The Sphinx / October 1975