Remembering Professor Emeritus of Psychology Thomas Moeller who taught psychology for 35 years at Mary Washington.

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Professor Emeritus of Psychology Thomas Moeller. Services will be held in Freeport, Illinois. For the past few years, he has lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after spending most of his career in Fredericksburg and Stafford.

Moeller retired from the Mary Washington faculty in 2008, after 35 years of service. Within the Department of Psychology, he was the founding editor of the alumni newsletter and also coordinated the department’s Graduate-in-Residence program. Alumni recall his impact long after they graduated with many citing him as the reason that they chose Mary Washington, and later returning to campus as a graduate-in-residence.

One recalls how Moeller was an academic advisor, and internship supervisor, and taught her favorite class of all time (health psychology). She noted how he was so good at “really seeing and listening to people and reaching out to share an encouraging word and taking time to recognize and appreciate the connections we have.”

Moeller’s main areas of expertise were normal and abnormal child development, educational psychology, parenting education and the study of aggression in youths and adults. In 2001, he authored a book, Youth Aggression and Violence. In 2007 he was awarded the Grellet C. Simpson award from UMW for excellence in undergraduate teaching. He was also an active member of the Virginia Psychological Association and involved in mental health issues in the Fredericksburg community.

In retirement, Moeller enjoyed genealogical research, traveling and studying European languages. He loved baseball and was an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals. Above all, however, he loved having more time to spend with his family, especially his grandchildren. Moeller will be remembered throughout the Fredericksburg region, with many colleagues and alumni fortunate for the opportunity to work with him.

See Moeller’s obituary for additional details on his memorial events and options for expressing condolences.

You are cordially invited to attend end-of-semester research symposia, posters, and presentations on Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6.

The UMW Honors Programs shares this year’s Honors Senior Capstone Fall Symposium, on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 2:15-6 p.m. in Lee Hall 412.  The format is three sessions of 60-75 minutes (4-5 presentations per session) with breaks in between, so feel free to come to any and all sessions as time permits. See a detailed schedule: Honors Symposium Program 2024

The 2024 Jepson Science Center Fall Research Symposium will take place on Friday, Dec. 6, from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Jepson Science Center, main lobby.  Students who conducted research in the sciences during the fall semester are excited to present their research at a poster session, and this year, students have submitted 70 research projects to be presented at the symposium. Fifty-three projects will be presented by students performing course-directed or independent projects in the Biological Sciences. Eighteen independent research projects will be presented by students in the Department of Chemistry and Physics (6 projects), Earth and Environmental Sciences (10 projects) and Music Technology (2 projects).

We hope you will join us in supporting all the hard work of our students! Project titles and abstracts are available online.

The Columns Humanities and Social Research Symposium, will start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 in the Colonnade Room of the Cedric Rucker University Center. Light refreshments will be provided.