Michael E. Moody, vice president of academic affairs and founding dean of faculty at Olin College and a central figure in the development of Olin's academic program, died Thursday, January 21, following an extended battle with cancer. He was 57.
Moody joined Olin as a visiting professor in June 2001, when the college was just getting off the ground. He was appointed dean of faculty and F. W. Olin professor of mathematics in September 2002, as Olin was offering its first academic courses, and was named vice president of academic affairs in July 2007.
Moody was the guiding light in the creation of Olin's pioneering curriculum. A mathematician, he believed that engineering students benefit from exposure to the liberal arts, the sciences and business, and he made sure these areas were well represented in Olin's curriculum.
"Michael Moody was the architect of the unique Olin learning culture," said Richard K. Miller, president of Olin College. "Olin simply wouldn't be what it is today without Michael's gifted leadership and enormous work ethic. He was a tremendous inspiration to us all, and the Olin community feels his loss deeply."
Moody also led the successful efforts to gain accreditation for the new college. He oversaw faculty recruitment and served as a respected and beloved mentor to many faculty members. Despite his heavy administrative duties, Moody continued to teach while at Olin, inspiring students with his infectious love of mathematics.
"Mike could not imagine life without teaching, and until 2007 he taught every student who entered Olin College," said Miller. "He was a master teacher with a passionate commitment to each student, who taught and inspired other teachers by his extraordinary personal example, high expectations, and bottomless commitment to hard work."
From 1996 - 2002, Moody was the Diana and Kenneth Jonsson professor of mathematics and chair of the mathematics department at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. Largely as a result of his leadership, Harvey Mudd's mathematics department was awarded the American Mathematical Society's inaugural award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department in 2006.
"Dr. Moody came to Harvey Mudd at a critical time for mathematics, and during his years here he was a very popular instructor who had a wonderful rapport with students and was also a gifted and imaginative administrator," said Dr. Samuel Tanenbaum, emeritus professor of engineering at Harvey Mudd. "As chair he was a kind of 'Pied Piper' who attracted students into mathematics, and led the faculty in the department as they added a cadre of new faculty members, devised novel mathematics courses and moved into new and exciting areas of research."
Born in Murray, Ky., Moody first attended Murray State University before enrolling at the University of California at San Diego, where he received his B.A. degree in 1975 with a double major in mathematics and chemical physics, and a double minor in history and philosophy. Pursuing an interest in biological systems at the University of Chicago, he earned his Ph.D. in applied mathematics there in 1979.
Following graduate school, he spent two years as a USPHS post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 1981 he joined the faculty at Washington State University, with a joint appointment between the Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics and the Department of Genetics and Cell Biology. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for research at the Institute for Mathematics at the University of Vienna 1990-91.
Moody was co-designer and developer of the award-winning multi-media ODE Architect software program for teaching and solving ordinary differential equations. He also published two books for integrating technology into the calculus curriculum through laboratory experiments.
He was a member of the advisory board at two colleges: Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Meyers.
Dr. Moody is survived by his wife, Joni of Needham; daughter Kjersten Moody, son-in-law Vincent Longo, Jr. and grandson Vincent Longo III of Evanston, Ill.; father USN CPO James C. Moody of Murray, Ky.; sisters Sandra Halter of Mayfield, Ky., and Teresa Gilson of Murray; and nieces Ashley Gilson Jones, Leslianne Gilson, Michele Halter Bruenderman and Kerry Halter Hayes.
To honor his memory, Olin College has created a faculty chair in Dr. Moody's name. Contributions to the Michael E. Moody Faculty Chair may be made online at: https://www.olin.edu/giving/donation.aspx. Harvey Mudd College has created the Michael Moody Mathematics Lecture Series; donations to the series can be made at http://www.hmc.edu/giving/waystogive/moodygiving.html.
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