After a nearly fifteen-year term at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the department of social work, Brenda Moore has been named as one of the permanent department heads.
In her new role, Moore will be responsible for faculty class assignment, supervising staff, and problem solving between faculty and students.
She will also be liable for maintaining control of the department by ensuring quality into the curriculum and making decisions concerning expansions into the community, as well as future classes and programs offered at the university.
Moore attended Texas Christian University (TCU) in the late 1970s with hopes of becoming a fashion designer.
During her sophomore year however, she took a social work class and immediately changed her major.
“I knew I wanted to help people,” Moore said. “I realized that a social work degree would help me do that.”
After her 1982 graduation from TCU, Moore began working full time in a residential treatment center for children, and was later named the director of a program for children who have incarcerated parents.
“It was a community program which provided services to parents who were incarcerated,” she said. “Children who visited their parents were placed in a children centered environment, instead of in a waiting room. Parents had access to rocking chairs and coloring books.”
Moore returned to school where she received her Masters in Social Work from University of Texas -Austin (UTA) in 1986.
“My masters degree allowed me to do more in the field than a bachelor’s degree,” Moore said. “It increased my job opportunities.”
Moore held employment at the Salvation Army with an after school program and later ran a homeless shelter for families in Fort Worth.
“Working at the Salvation Army and dealing with homeless families taught me a lot about appreciating what I had and not taking things for granted,” she said. “Some of the people I met traveled with only their birth certificates in brown envelopes.”
During the late 80s, Moore administered federal programs that assisted social service agencies funded through the city of Arlington.
Decisions on how to disperse money to the numerous agencies was one of her many duties.
After a move to Bonham with her husband, Moore began teaching at A&M-C in 1993 as a faculty and field coordinator.
Eight years later, she was named Director of the undergraduate Social Work Program in 2001.
In 2003, Moore received her Ph.D. in Social Work from UTA.
“I loved being in school and I loved learning,” Moore said. “I knew my Ph.D. would fit in with my academic career in teaching social work.”
Moore hopes to stay at the University as long as possible, continuing her goal of helping students get to know the human spirit in each person.
“The students on this campus, especially our social work majors, are really dedicated and want their education,” she said. “Lots of them are first generation college students who grew up in this area. I really admire and respect the nontraditional students who are raising children, working, and make sacrifices to go to school.”
Moore still resides in Bonham with her husband and stays busy with their six cats.