SHERMAN, TEXAS — The Austin College community and higher education have lost a pioneering leader, spirited advocate, and good friend to many in the death of John D. Moseley, president emeritus of Austin College. 

President of Austin College from 1953-1978, Dr. Moseley was responsible for tremendous growth at the College in the 1950s and for the school’s innovative curriculum initiated in the 1960s and 1970s. Also a lifelong leader in the Presbyterian Church, Moseley died Wednesday, March 11, at the age of ­­93.   

Though he had not been in leadership at Austin College in nearly three decades, he remained a vital member of the College community and a strong advocate for higher education. He and his wife, Sara Bernice, were great friends to Austin College and active in College life until declining health kept him at home. 

Hired in 1953 to save the College from sluggish, post-G.I. Bill enrollment, Moseley helped increase the student body from 350 upon his arrival to more than 1,000 by fall 1959, and he doubled the number of campus buildings during the first 10 years of his administration, adding two residence halls, a chapel, and a library by 1960.  

Moseley helped establish Austin College as an innovative presence among institutions of higher education and changed the way these institutions deal with tuition, church-related entities, and curriculum.  

A native of Greenville, Texas, Moseley earned a bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University and a master’s degree and a doctorate of law from the University of Texas at Austin. He met Sara Bernice Honea while both were members of the Presbyterian Youth Council in the 1930s, and they later married. 

Moseley’s career began in government service at the state and federal levels, including work in the Bureau of the Budget in the Executive Office of the President of the United States and as the first executive director of the Texas Legislative Council.  

The first native Texan to serve as president of Austin College, Moseley’s impact on campus was immediate. He increased enrollment by inviting Presbyterian youth to tour the campus and by visiting Presbyterian churches throughout Texas, often taking the A Cappella Choir with him to generate student interest while asking church leaders for renewed support of the College.  

Moseley put the College’s finances in order by taking the controversial step of eliminating athletic scholarships. This action brought criticism but also saved money without affecting academics. Moseley also convinced Texas oilman Toddie Lee Wynne to join the Austin College Board of Trustees as chair in 1955.Wynne’s connections put the College in touch with other financial circles in Texas, which resulted in a $1 million campaign that allowed the College to build Baker and Clyce residence halls and Wynne Chapel. 

After securing the College’s enrollment and financial stability, Moseley turned his attention to academics, a subject that consumed his remaining years as president. Under President Moseley, Austin College re-established an academic emphasis on the classics and instituted a core curriculum rooted in interdisciplinary study. Then, in the 1960s, the innovations began.  

First, Moseley put together a committee of faculty that established a Basic Integrated Studies program, which placed the entire liberal arts curriculum within the culture of Western heritage. He also presided over the racial integration of Austin College, brought international programs to campus such as Model U.N. and the World Affairs Program, which allowed students to study abroad, and instituted January Term to give students one month a year to intently study one subject of interest. The Basic Decisions Program brought an organized mentoring program to the College for the first time.  

In 1966, Moseley forged a new relationship between the College and the Presbyterian Church (USA), a covenant relationship, one that legally separated the two institutions but made them partners mutually committed to educational excellence. While this relationship continues to flourish, other church-related institutions have implemented similar covenants.   

Moseley’s passion for improving Austin College never waned. The 1970s saw Moseley still presiding over campus construction. A new theatre, baseball field, tennis courts, recreation center, natatorium, and arts building rose on campus and were enhanced by a dramatic new fountain and the oak-lined Windsor Mall. In 1975, enrollment reached 1,200 students for the first time.  

Two final academic innovations closed out Moseley’s tenure as president of Austin College. First came the Austin Teacher Program, a five-year graduate degree that interwove the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum with practical teaching experience and reflective study under the supervision of experienced educators. Then, Moseley formed yet another committee to re-examine the College’s interdisciplinary approach to liberal arts, resulting in the IDEAS program (Individual Development: Encounter with the Arts and Sciences), a concept the College still incorporates into the curriculum.      

Moseley also was an innovative force in higher education in general. He was instrumental in the forming of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas (ICUT) and active in securing legislation to create the Texas Tuition Equalization Grant. He had served as chair of the Association of American Colleges, served on the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, and served on the Commission on Standards for Colleges and Universities of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. He is a former president of the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. He was an officer and on the board of director of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and was the executive director of the National Congress on Church-Related Colleges and Universities.  

The Sherman community also was a beneficiary of Moseley’s involvement. Over the years, he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, chair of the United Fund of Sherman, director of the Greater Texoma Utility Authority, and president of the Rotary. He served as executive coordinator of Goals for Sherman, Inc. and as executive director of the Consortium for Community Education Development, Inc.  

Moseley retired as president of Austin College in 1978 and assumed the role of chancellor of Austin College. As chancellor, Moseley also directed the College’s Center for Program and Institutional Renewal, which shared with other institutions the College’s unique curricular and organizational innovations. Moseley officially retired from Austin College in 1981.  

Moseley received several honorary doctorates, including those from Midwestern University, Trinity University, Texas Christian University, Abilene Christian University, and Austin College.  

His honors include the Austin College Board of Trustees Founders Medal (1977), the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal for distinguished service from the Association of Texas College’s and Universities (1983), the Outstanding Service to Higher Education Award from the Presbyterian Church (USA) (1988), Citizen of the Year by the Sherman Chamber of Commerce (1988), the Community Builder Award from Sherman Masonic Lodges (1991), the League of Women Voters Citizenship Award (1992), the Sherman Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor (1992), the ICUT Founder’s Award (1996), and the highest Phi Delta Kappa Award for outstanding contributions to education.