Thomas J Moran was a renowned businessman and humanitarian who acted as Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast until his death on August 19 2018.

Mr Moran was formally inaugurated as Chancellor of Queen’s on Thursday 2 July, 2015. At a special installation ceremony in the Great Hall, the Vice-Chancellor, the late Professor Patrick Johnston, referred to him as “someone who shares our passion for education” who “recognises the transformative effect it has on the world around us.” It is for these same reasons that he is a fitting person to be honoured in the official name of The Graduate School.

The Life and Career of Thomas J Moran

Thomas J Moran was a native New Yorker. Born in 1952, he grew up in Staten Island, one of three children of an Irish-Italian-American mother and an Irish-American father, with roots in Counties Fermanagh, Cavan and Tipperary.

At 14, he began his first job as a janitor at his high school and later, while attending Manhattan College, he drove a cab during the night shift. Following a BS degree in mathematics, Tom began working as a pension underwriter at Mutual of America Life Insurance Company in 1975, where he met his future wife, Joan, whom he married in 1983.

By 1994 Mr Moran had worked his way up to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mutual and was listed as one of the top 100 Irish-American business people in the US. In 2008, he was named Irish American of the Year by the magazine, Irish America, when accolades were bestowed on him from Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and Sir Hugh Orde, then-chief Constable of the PSNI, among many others.

Upon his death in 2018, the publication Irish Central called Mr Moran “one of the greatest Irish American leaders of all time”. Irish America referred to him as “a man of the people” and “a giant supporter of everything – from arts and education, and peace in Northern Ireland – to bringing relief to troubled spots around the globe.” Mr Moran’s presence within and influence on the Irish-American community is just one of the ways that he represents the global significance and ambition of The Graduate School.

Success, Philanthropy and Humanitarianism 

During his career, Mr Moran served on many boards including the American Cancer Society Foundation, the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Channel Thirteen WNET, and the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. He was also Chairman of Concern Worldwide (US), Inc., an international humanitarian relief organisation that operates in 30 of the poorest countries of the world. 

A noted philanthropist when it came to the arts, culture, business and heritage worlds, Mr Moran contributed to many humanitarian and community causes. He was also an influential voice in the peace process, acting as one of a group of unofficial peace envoys to Northern Ireland throughout the 1990s. 

The Thomas J Moran Graduate School 

The naming of the Thomas J Moran Graduate School is part of the school’s ongoing evolution. Central to this evolution is challenge, innovation, value and connection. These pillars were evident from Thomas J Moran throughout his life and career, be it challenging himself in the wide variety of jobs and roles he undertook; showing innovation in business and philanthropy; building connections through his peace work in Northern Ireland; or seeing the value in making global connections. 

Now, this renaming is just one way of ensuring that his influence continues to be honoured at Queen’s University.