Alicia Moore, associate professor of education, has been appointed to the Cargill Professorship in Education at Southwestern University. The professorship was funded by a portion of a recent $383,612 gift from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation of Minnesota.

Moore has been on the Southwestern faculty since 2001. Her teaching and research focuses on culturally responsive teaching and best practices for early childhood education. She received the Exemplary Teaching Award from the Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church in 2006.

“Dr. Moore is an outstanding teacher-scholar who is deeply committed to the preparation of future teachers,” said Provost Jim Hunt. “Her courses are sought out by a wide range of students, many of whom choose to pursue teaching as a career based on their experience in her class. It is a great honor to be able to recognize her outstanding work through this appointment.”

Moore earned an undergraduate degree in elementary education from Huston-Tillotson University and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in special education from The University of Texas at Austin.

The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation was created upon Mrs. Cargill’s death in 2006. Cargill was the granddaughter of William Cargill, co-founder of Cargill Inc., an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.