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Kent State’s Student Multicultural Center (SMC) will be renamed the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center in honor of a beloved longtime member of the university community whose legacy left an enormous imprint on the university. 

Moore, ’73, MA ’77, MFA ’83, Associate Dean Emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pan-African Studies, passed away unexpectedly in 2021. 

The center is being renamed in recognition of a $50,000 gift from D’Andra Mull, Ph.D., a former student who graduated from Kent State in 2002. 

A dedication ceremony will be held Saturday Oct. 1 at 12:45 p.m. The center is located on the second floor of the Kent Student Center, office 206. To register for the dedication, . 

Kent State President Todd Diacon approved the naming action and shared his support for Moore along with Mull, Moore’s family members and others, during a recent committee meeting of the Kent State Board of Trustees. 

Diacon said Moore was the first person he met after moving to Northeast Ohio, calling him a “beautiful human being.” 

“To know Tim was to love Tim,” Diacon said. “He touched so many lives. Thank you, Dr. Mull, for your generosity. I am so proud we have reached this moment.” 

Mull, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and criminal justice, has served in student affairs leadership positions across the country. She remembered the impact that Moore had on her life and the lives of other students. 

 “I am grateful to have the opportunity to honor Dr. Moore,” said Mull. “One of the first things Dr. Moore said to me when I came to campus was ‘I see you.’ When I work with students to this day, I always see students because of the way Dr. Moore saw us.” 

Lamar R. Hylton, Ph. D., senior vice president for student affairs, said renaming the SMC in honor of Moore is symbolic of the center's mission being in perfect alignment with Moore's life work.

“The Student Multicultural Center is a place where our entire community can be educated on the power of equity, inclusivity and belonging – this is congruent with Dean Moore’s approach to education during his time at Kent State," Hylton said. "Having the Student Multicultural Center bear his name is symbolic of mission and action aligning.”

Moore’s wife, Debra Delacy Moore, who met her husband at Kent State at the age of 18, gave special thanks to Mull saying: “My heart is full.”  

Candace Garton-Mullen, Moore’s daughter, has childhood memories of running around the SMC when her father was working.  

“He valued his work at the university and valued the knowledge he provided to the students,” Garton-Mullen said. “He tried to make the world a better place by educating our youth. This is the most incredible honor. It means the world to my family.”  

Moore’s passion for educating youth lives on through the that was created after his death. The scholarship is for students who major or minor in Pan-African Studies and for members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, of which Moore was a member. The scholarship can be used for books, tuition and living expenses. The new scholarship honors Moore’s outstanding contributions to Kent State. 

Moore served as assistant and then associate dean of undergraduate affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences for 12 years. He had a passion for advising underrepresented and underserved students and was the go-to person for students, including those enrolled in other colleges. 

A Cleveland native and graduate of Glenville High School, Moore first worked as a printing press operator/trainee before enrolling at Kent State in fall 1969 to major in graphic design, now called visual communication design, which blended his artistic and printing expertise. 

In an oral history compiled by ������ Libraries, Moore said he joined Black United Students (BUS) as soon as he arrived on campus at Kent State. He served as minister of art for BUS and as the organization’s president in 1971. 

During his time at Kent State and in various places throughout the Pan-African world, Moore taught courses in African and African American historic, artistic and cultural experiences. 

Moore’s commitment to students included serving as a mentor with a particular focus on African American males. For several years, he worked to help increase graduation rates of ninth grade African American males in Akron’s high schools and Ohio’s juvenile correctional facilities. 

Moore was the first African American at Kent State to receive the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award and was twice selected to Who’s Who Among American Teachers. He also received numerous recognitions as an outstanding teacher, including the Distinguished Honors Faculty Award. Prior to his retirement in 2010, Moore was honored by the National Academic Advising Association and received several awards for his life-long contributions to the university. 

A trailblazer in diversity issues for more than 40 years, Moore was awarded the university’s annual Diversity Trailblazer Award in 2015.  

Michael Daniels, Ph.D., director of the Student Multicultural Center said: “I am humbled and honored to witness history as we celebrate the legacy of E. Timothy Moore in the renaming of the Student Multicultural Center.” 

For more information about the SMC, go to /smc.