March 10, 2010

Cooley Assistant Dean To Be Honored for Community Contributions

Professor and Assistant Dean Martha Moore

Cooley Law School Professor and Assistant Dean Martha Moore will be honored by the Detroit Renaissance Alumni Chapter of Alabama A&M University Alumni Association with their “Most Distinguished Mark of Excellence Award.” The honor is given out each year to recognize “outstanding citizens in the metropolitan Detroit area who have made countless contributions to improve the quality of life for our citizens.” Moore will be honored at the association’s Founder’s Day Luncheon March 27 in Livonia.

John Nussbaumer, Associate Dean at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus, said "As usual, Martha was surprised and a little embarrassed by this award, and the first thing she said was, 'I don't know what I've done to deserve this.' That's part of what makes her so deserving. She works tirelessly for others less fortunate than herself with no expectation of any reward or recognition. So this is especially deserved."

Moore was both appreciative and nonplussed regarding the award “Frankly, I know that there are numerous, numerous people more deserving of this award and I don't feel worthy to receive it. These types of awards are for extraordinary service. I don't believe that I should get any special recognition for simply doing things that I know to be right. Doing what is right is not extraordinary, but routine. I am an ordinary person trying to do the best that I can in life.”

Moore said she finds her direction from her faith. “The book that guides my life is the Bible. It tells me and helps me to do what's right when no one else is looking. The Bible also tells me that I am not the owner of anything, rather I am a steward and that I am to use what has been entrusted to me to do good and benefit others.”

Joan P. Vestrand, Associate Dean, Ann Arbor Campus, said, “I have had the honor and privilege of knowing and working with Martha for more than two decades. For as long as I have known her, she has placed others ahead of herself. There isn't a day that goes by that doesn't include on her part a charitable act, kind word or service for the benefit of someone else. Martha is a true inspiration and a very worthy recipient of this award and recognition.”

Moore mentors young girls at her church and in school; makes meals for the ill and bereaved, as well as for new mothers; provides home-cooked holiday meals for senior citizens at her church; decorates halls for families’ special events; and provided pro bono legal services to many. Moore and her husband regularly visit nursing homes with gift bags, participate in Angel Tree (providing gifts to children of incarcerated parents) and canned food drives, invited needy people to their home for holiday and regular meals, purchase food for the need, counsel couples with marital difficulties, and provided a ready and willing ear to their friends and friends’ children.

Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the nation. Founded in 1972, the private, non-profit law school operates J.D. programs across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.Today, Cooley Law School has nearly 14,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and master of laws programs. Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September. Additional information about Cooley can be found at cooley.edu.