Dr Euna Moore: A founding mother of the sciences
Published:Tuesday | November 16, 2021 | 12:06 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
Former University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturer Dr Euna Moore is being remembered as a dedicated educator and a stalwart of the UWI. Her early years were dedicated to teaching in primary and secondary schools in a number of parishes across Jamaica.
She is the founding director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the UWI Cave Hill campus.
Moore commenced employment at Cave Hill in August 1968 as a lecturer in biology and was promoted to senior lecturer in 1979.
She served as vice-dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences from 1977 to 1979, and head of the Department of Biology from 1978 to 1980, prior to assuming the directorship at CERMES from 1989 to 1994.
She retired in September 1994 having rendered 26 years of dedicated service to The UWI.
Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, recalls Moore’s significant contribution towards the campus’ institution building in its earlier years.
He referenced Moore as “a founding mother of the sciences” whose legacies include the creation of one of the campus’ magnificent and treasured green spaces.
“What a dignified, calm, and collegial scholar we knew her to be. Euna’s dedication to the advancement of the disciplines of botany and biology at the Cave Hill Campus is legendary,” Beckles added.
She is also remembered for bringing to her various levels of responsibility within university administration a dedication to duty, a commitment to thoroughness and efficiency, an ability to manage time, and a conviction that the best form of leadership is to lead by example.
Former campus principal, Dr V Eudine Barriteau, recalled Moore as a pioneering woman and scientist in the academic community.
“She laid the foundation for environmental studies and what was to become the strong and vibrant CERMES. I remember there was a very early proposal to rename the biology park after her. It is perhaps time to revisit this,” Barriteau said.
Meanwhile, her niece, Cecile Hale, recalled that Moore was a teacher at Rose Bank Elementary School when she and Moore’s youngest sibling, Effie, enrolled there.
“We quickly found out that if we expected any privileges, none were forthcoming. We had to outperform or explain why, as ‘Mr Strap’ was always close by,” she recounted.
When they moved to Kingston for secondary schooling, Moore, a university student, made space for them at her home.
“It could not have been easy, but such was the strength of the woman and the family ethic. She was a major influence in my life. Taught me to read early, fostered my love of books. We played games as a family, no quarter asked, none given, so the competitive spirit, critical thinking and problem-solving skills were encouraged,” Hale said.
After retirement in 1994, Moore returned to Jamaica and settled with relatives on a farm in Beecher Town, St Ann.
As a result of operations on the farm, she became a board member of the Jamaica Egg Farmers Association (JEFA) and a member of the Cattle Breeders Society of Jamaica.
Moore was a JEFA director at the time of her passing and is remembered by the association as a “mountain of knowledge and a well of experience”.
The association noted that she was actively working on identifying every egg farmer in Jamaica and entering their information into a database.
Moore passed away on October 3.
The thanksgiving service will be held on Friday at Beecher Town Methodist Church, commencing at 1 p.m.