Family and friends, as well as former colleagues, alumni and current employees of Atlantic Cape Community College gathered in the Student Center on the Mays Landing campus on August 8 to celebrate the life of former College President Dr. Peter L. Mora, Sr., who passed away on June 30 at the age of 81.
For 41 years, between 1974 and 2016, Dr. Mora served the college in a variety of capacities. He was a professor of developmental studies, associate dean of academics, associate dean of economic development and continuing education, dean of continuing education and extension centers, provost of Cape May County, and vice president of continuing education and Cape May County prior to his promotion to president on July 1, 2005. Dr. Mora also served as the College’s chairman of the Cape May County Comprehensive Campus Transition Team, which helped create successful strategies that aided in the opening of the Cape May County campus in 2005.
Dr. Mora’s widow, Dr. Theresa DeFranco, who herself worked at the College for 15 years, recalled how her late husband made his students feel welcome and important.
“He was a humble and kind man who made the students feel comfortable. He would talk to them at all times of the day whether it be in the cafeteria, in the hallways or at an event,” said DeFranco. “The students would say that they felt good that the College president would take the time to talk to them. He made them feel respected and accepted. He was approachable, a good listener and respectful of others.”
Long-time friends shared stories of Dr. Mora’s youthful years growing up in Atlantic City’s northeast inlet, while former colleagues emotionally recalled how Dr. Mora mentored them along the way, always seeking to help them advance in their higher education studies and in their careers. Some were even fortunate enough to have him and his wife dance at their respective weddings.
Dr. Mora, himself, was a big believer in education. He earned his Doctorate in Community College Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Master’s Degree in Community College Teaching from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and his Bachelor’s Degree in History and Economics from University of Bridgeport, CT.
Dr. Mora worked hand-in-hand with the Atlantic Cape Community College Foundation’s Create Opportunity Capital and Scholarship Campaign to raise the funding needed for the creation of the 32,475-square-foot Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Building, which opened in 2015. Dr. Mora was also instrumental in creating the vision for the Student Center, which officially opened in 2018. This building houses the Student Government Association, ping pong room, video game room, college radio station, college newspaper, food pantry, Campus Closet, classrooms, veterans lounge, faculty and staff offices and more.
Dr. Mora also was an early advocate on the importance of diversity and of giving those who are normally excluded or underserved the opportunity to learn and succeed academically and in life.
Dr. DeFranco opined on how her late husband, even after he retired from the College in 2016, would continue to use all that he had learned throughout his career in academia. He read, studied and wrote about the former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Dr. Mora also created the Mora Leadership and Communication Matrix: A Tool for Enhancing Leadership Styles, which his widow has promised to continue his work on. Dr. DeFranco also accepted the Stanley W. Marczyk Distinguished Recognition Award, which was posthumously awarded to her late husband for his professional leadership, dedication and achievement.
An endowment has also been established in Dr. Mora’s name thanks to the generous contributions from many of our donors. This endowment will provide an annual scholarship(s) to students attending Atlantic Cape for the foreseeable future.
Formal resolutions from the New Jersey Council of Community Colleges, the Atlantic Cape Foundation Board of Trustees and the City of Atlantic City Council were also adopted recently recognizing Mora’s contributions to education throughout his career.
Members of Dr. Mora’s immediate family – widow, Dr. Theresa DeFranco; brother, Ben and his wife, Kathie; son, John and his wife, Monica; daughter, Judy and her partner, Laura; nephew, Michael; niece, Patty Baroska and her husband, Bob; sister-in-law, Dr. Tammy DeFranco and mother-in-law, Emily DeFranco – were in attendance.
Atlantic Cape Trustee Donald Parker recalled sage words of advice that Mora once bequeathed to him. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” In his nearly 15,000 days at Atlantic Cape, Mora certainly took his own advice and lived it.
