“Oklahomans in Space: 50th Anniversary of the Moon Walk”
Bill Moore received his B.A. in 1979 and M.A. in 1993 in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Oklahoma. He has been honored as a University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism Distinguished Alum. His career in video production work included time with the F.A.A., Oklahoma City Community College, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Historical Society, as well as producing documentaries for OETA. The decade he spent with OHS included serving as part of the group responsible for opening the new Oklahoma History Center in 2005, which included the Oklahoma film and tape library established by Moore composed of several million feet of film and tape. He has written numerous historical journal and magazine articles on the space program as well as author and co-author of four books dealing with Oklahoma history. He serves on several film and book publication committees and served as President of the Stafford Air and Space Museum Board. He also served on the Gaylord College of Journalism’s JayMac Alumni Board.
Working on the exhibit about Oklahomans involved with the space program when the Oklahoma History Center opened, Moore continued researching this field that had fascinated him his entire life. It turned into a project known as “Oklahomans and Space.” This project has yielded a coffee table book and 7-part documentary series on OETA. Previous work included a documentary, “Thomas P. Stafford, Oklahoma Astronaut.” Both of these projects were nominated for a Heartland Emmy Award. Recently he was honored with induction into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame.
Rick J. Moore is a third generation Oklahoman. He holds a Ph. D. in Education, with a concentration in Curriculum Studies from Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Moore served on the congressional staff of U.S. Congressman Mickey Edwards from 1984-1988, was Assistant to the Mayor of Oklahoma City under Ron Norick from 1988-1996. He was the staff person during the creation of the now historic “MAPS” project in Oklahoma City and was the person credited with coining the acronym “MAPS”.
He has been the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Municipal Contractors Association since 1999.
Dr. Moore and his brother Bill Moore have written a book for the Oklahoma Heritage Association called “Norick: The Mayors of Oklahoma City” as part of their Trackmaker series.
In October 2018, Dr. Moore’s dissertation, entitled “The Frontiers of Science Foundation: Transforming Math and Science Curricula in Oklahoma Secondary Schools, 1957-1964” was deposited in the NASA Library in Washington, DC. In 2019, the Oklahoma Historical Society selected Dr. Moore’s dissertation as the Outstanding Dissertation on Oklahoma History for 2018.
Rick is a graduate of Class X of Leadership Oklahoma City, and the recipient of the 2006 Paragon Award for community service. He was named as one of 50 Oklahomans over the age of 50 who have made a difference in Oklahoma by the AARP on their 50th anniversary. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary Club 29. Dr. Moore is married to Vickie and they have six children and seven grandchildren and live in Edmond.