The university mourns the passing of Bob Moses, civil rights leader and FIU colleague

Dear members of the university community,

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Robert “Bob” Moses, Civil Rights leader, founder and president of the Algebra Project, MacArthur Fellow, and FIU’s former Eminent Scholar in the College of Education.

At our FIU, we enjoyed a 17 year-long affiliation with Bob, who in the 1960s fought as passionately and tirelessly for voting rights as he did later for the right of all children to a quality education. He led countless programs, grants, and collaborations at FIU and instituted some of FIU’s larger educational collaborations with the South Florida community. His wisdom, humility, and courage made us all better people, willing to join the struggle for the nation’s ideals of creating “a more perfect union.”

In 2004, FIU invited Bob to join the College of Education (COE), to assist in raising the level of mathematics education delivered to disenfranchised students.

That partnership became a leading school-based, university-affiliated program where Bob, professors, researchers from across the nation, and other COE partners worked in the classroom with the students alongside high school teachers. Theories, curriculum, and pedagogy were worked out inside the classroom with students, then shared with parents and their communities in quarterly parent-driven meetings. That collaboration included residential summer institutes for high school students and a summer academy for 3^rd to 5th-grade students from Liberty City.

After leaving FIU briefly, Bob rejoined us in 2017 as a consultant for the College of Arts, Sciences & Education and the STEM Transformation Institute to expand and house FLAME at FIU, the Florida Local Alliance for Math Literacy and Equity. FLAME at FIU will continue its work, grounded in Bob’s vision.

We offer our deepest condolences to his wife, Dr. Janet Jemmott Moses, and their four children: Maisha Moses, Omo Moses, Taba Moses, and Malaika Moses, along with their seven grandchildren.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time. We will host a celebration of life for Bob on a date to be determined by his family. 

In lieu of flowers, you may send donations to the Algebra Project and the Young People’s Project.

Sincerely yours,

Mark B. Rosenberg

President