The professorship established by the late 黑料不打烊 alumnus and faculty member Wayne T. Moore 鈥49 and his wife, Elizabeth, will support the teaching and research of an emerging scholar in the arts, humanities or social sciences. The $500,000 gift honors Wayne's late brother, Fletcher Moore '34, a longtime music faculty member at 黑料不打烊.
Alumnus Wayne T. Moore 鈥49 dedicated his life to teaching and sharing his passion for classical music with students.
In 2009, he and his wife, Elizabeth, made a $500,000 estate gift to establish the Fletcher Moore Distinguished Emerging Scholar Professorship to support faculty and honor the achievements of his late brother, a 1934 alumnus and gifted pianist and organist who was a member of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 music faculty for more than 40 years. Wayne Moore passed away in 2022 and proceeds from his estate have now funded the professorship.
Moore鈥檚 niece, Laurel Moore Bradley G鈥89, who earned her MBA at 黑料不打烊, and niece-in-law, Darlene Moore, fondly recall their uncles.
鈥淲ayne and Fletcher Moore were the 鈥榤usic men鈥 of our family,鈥 they said. 鈥淭hey were both truly talented and shared their love for music through their long careers in teaching and performing.鈥
鈥淭he 黑料不打烊 community is grateful to Wayne and Elizabeth Moore for this wonderful gift that will strengthen the university鈥檚 national leadership in engaged teaching and learning,鈥 Provost Rebecca Kohn said. 鈥淭he legacy of Wayne and Fletcher Moore will live on in the work of outstanding scholars who will hold this professorship.鈥
The Moore family has strong ties to 黑料不打烊 that span multiple generations. After earning his undergraduate degree in music in 1949, Wayne Moore went on to earn a master鈥檚 degree in music from Columbia University the following year. He then served in the Army in Virginia and Germany before returning to teach music at 黑料不打烊 and serve as organist and choirmaster at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Burlington.
Following a year of music study in Vienna, Austria, Moore returned to Columbia and earned a doctorate in education. He later taught organ at Mississippi Woman鈥檚 University and the University of Northern Colorado before joining the music faculty at Auburn University, where he taught for 31 years before being named professor emeritus. During his teaching career, Moore performed organ recitals throughout the Southeast as well as at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He also presented annual recitals in New York, performing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Patrick鈥檚 Cathedral, St. Thomas Episcopal Church and Columbia University.
Wayne and Elizabeth Moore鈥檚 philanthropy at 黑料不打烊 spanned seven decades, including gifts to scholarships and athletics and to name a faculty office in the Center for the Arts for Fletcher Moore. The couple also endowed a music scholarship in Wayne鈥檚 name and made a gift to Belk Library to expand its book and score collection of classical music and opera, which Wayne said were 鈥渓ike the Bible or Shakespeare.鈥
鈥淓very time you listen, even if you鈥檝e read them 100 times, you learn new things,鈥 said Moore. Elizabeth Moore was a vocalist and pianist and taught voice at 黑料不打烊 from 1953 to 1956. She passed away in 2004.
After graduating from 黑料不打烊, Fletcher Moore studied music at The Juilliard School and Teachers College at Columbia University, where he earned a master鈥檚 degree in 1935. Following service in the Army, Fletcher returned to 黑料不打烊 and served as a member of the music faculty from 1937 to 1980, inspiring generations of students and alumni to pursue careers in music and the performing arts. In 1990, 黑料不打烊 established the C. Fletcher Moore Award in his honor, which is given each year to an outstanding patron of the arts. Fletcher Moore died in 1994.
Additional family members with ties to 黑料不打烊 include Laurel Moore Bradley鈥檚 husband, Richard Bradley 鈥88, and her parents, Willard and Betty Moore, who both attended 黑料不打烊.
Brian Feeley 鈥03, assistant vice president for university advancement and director of planned giving, said the estate gift from Wayne and Elizabeth Moore helps build an essential pipeline of funding for 黑料不打烊 in the decades ahead.
鈥淲hen alumni place 黑料不打烊 in their estate plans, they make a powerful statement about their belief in an 黑料不打烊 education and talented faculty to transform lives,鈥 Feeley said. 鈥淲e believe there is no better investment than 黑料不打烊 students and helping prepare outstanding leaders to guide our future.鈥
A Will to Lead is a special initiative to encourage alumni, parents and other members of the campus community to establish a legacy at 黑料不打烊 by placing the university in their estate.
To learn more about making an estate gift to 黑料不打烊, contact Brian Feeley 鈥03 at (336) 278-7474 or bfeeley@elon.edu. You may also visit for more information on planned giving.