By now, Chris Moore is probably on a boat with a grandkid or two around him. Moore, who retired this summer after nine academic years as dean to move near family in the Pacific Northwest, is also likely basking in the assurance he’s left Sargent well-positioned for continued success. Under his leadership, Sargent increased graduate enrollment, faculty and staff head count, external funding for research, and student scholarships, partnered with dedicated supporters to endow its first three named professorships, and expanded its campus footprint while enhancing existing facilities. Graduate enrollment doubled during his tenure—767 students in 2022—while maintaining Sargent’s high national rankings. The school’s graduate programs tracked by U.S. News & World Report all rank in the top 20 nationally: the occupational therapy program at No. 1, the speech-language pathology program at No. 10, and the physical therapy program at No. 20. During Moore’s time at the helm, grant funding from foundations and agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has more than doubled, and federally funded research expenditures increased to more than $700,000 annually per tenure-track faculty member. Under Moore’s direction, Sargent has become a launchpad and training ground for future leaders and educators in the field through, for example, a prestigious T32 NIH training grant for pre- and postdoctoral fellows. Adding to all that are a cadre of new alumni supporters, student scholarships, and the renovation of many classroom, seminar, laboratory, and research facilities. Moore’s fingerprints are everywhere at Sargent, securing the school’s position as a leader in education, research, and clinical practice for decades to come.
EXPERIENTIAL AND STATE-OF-THE-ART LEARNING
Moore reimagined several of Sargent’s key labs and learning spaces—while increasing the number of clinical placements and experiential learning opportunities. Moore opened (above left) the new Center for Simulated Clinical Experience, which provides students an experiential learning space that simulates the capabilities and procedures of an acute care hospital room or a radiology suite, mirroring a real-world clinical setting; The Physical Therapy Lab, renovated in 2014, features equipment for up to 40 students at a time to learn examination and intervention strategies and a state-of-the-art media system for students’ self-review—creating an optimal teaching and learning environment (above right).
CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
A researcher himself, Moore supported a wave of transformational studies by faculty and their students. He oversaw the increase of diverse faculty and staff, expanding the pipeline of future, field-defining and field-shaping leaders by tripling support for PhD students and postdoctoral research fellows. Key partnerships with Sargent supporters resulted in the creation of three new endowed named professorships. These professorships, which Moore awarded during his tenure, included LaDora Thompson as the Travis M. Roy Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences, Jana Iverson as the Christopher A. Moore Professor of Pediatric Rehabilitation and associate dean for research (read a profile of Iverson from this issue), and Swathi Kiran (pictured above) as the James and Cecilia Tse Ying Professor in Neurorehabilitation.
STRENGTHENING A COMMUNITY
Moore’s focus on program excellence drove a 50 percent increase in graduate enrollments over his tenure. His enthusiasm and approachable manner shone through in his interactions with faculty, staff, students, and alumni, and his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic instilled a sense of stability and security. To ensure students had a financial safety net during this difficult time, Moore launched the Sargent Cares Emergency Fund in 2020, which provided grants to help students recover from unexpected losses of employment, lent technology support, and most importantly, ensured students could continue their education at BU. Beginning in fall 2023, visitors and members of the Sargent community were welcomed to the college by a renovated lobby (above right), complete with plentiful seating, digital displays, and a first-floor academic services center; Moore enjoyed a warm connection with Sargent alumni, as evident in an image taken of him chatting with Dolores T. Jordan (’49, Wheelock’60), known as “Dutchie,” at a luncheon during Alumni Weekend 2022 (above left).