In memoriam: Laurence J. Moore, professor emeritus of business information technology

Larry Moore, professor emeritus of business information technology, died Feb. 14, 2018. He was 79.  

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1970, Moore was a key administrator in what is now the Pamplin College of Business during the ’70s and early ’80s.

From 1976-80, Moore served as head of what was then the Department of Business Administration, which comprised the academic areas of finance, management, management science, and marketing. 

When those academic areas were formally designated as departments in 1980, Moore served as the first head of the management science department, now business information technology. 

In 1985, he was named the C&P Telephone Professor of Management Science, the college’s first endowed professorship. Later renamed Verizon Professor of Business Information Technology, the title was held by Moore until his retirement in 2007.

“Larry was a prolific researcher, authoring over 50 research articles and three books,” said former department head Bernard W. (Chuck) Taylor, who succeeded Moore in 1983.

“He was also a dedicated teacher who taught a wide range of graduate and undergraduate courses and who received four college teaching excellence awards,” said Taylor.

During his 37-year career at Virginia Tech, Moore served on more than 200 departmental, college, and university committees. He also served as director of University Financial Planning and Analysis and as director of University Planning. 

An active member of the Decision Sciences Institute at both regional and national levels, Moore served as national program chair of the institute’s 1979 annual meeting and as national president in 1983.

He received Distinguished Service Awards from the Southeast regional chapter of DSI as well as the national organization and from the Southeast regional chapter of the Institute of Management Sciences (now INFORMS). He was named a Fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute in 1980.

Moore received his bachelor’s degree from Monmouth University and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University. He served two years in the U.S. Army and worked for Standard Oil Company and the Continental Illinois National Bank in Chicago.

A memorial gathering will be held on Monday, Feb. 26, 4-6 p.m., at the Hahn Garden Pavilion. “We invite all who knew Larry or worked with him to join us in remembering his service to Virginia Tech, the Pamplin College of Business, and the thousands of students he taught and advised over the years,” said business information technology department head Robin Russell.