Dick Enberg CMU Alumni Commitment Award

Rachael Moreno had a vast career in education as a teacher, director, consultant, and Associate Superintendent. She earned her bachelor's degree and teaching certificate from Central Michigan University in 1966. Ms. Moreno graduated from CMU as a Ford Foundation Fellow, a program that combined classwork with classroom teaching with an added year of study. Following her graduation, Ms. Moreno taught in Clare, MI from 1964-1965, and then in San Antonio Texas in 1965-1966 before serving in the USO as a member of the Library and Entertainment Branch. She was stationed at a military base in the Republic of Korea from 1967-1968, the height of the Vietnam War.  After her service with the USO, Ms. Moreno worked as a teacher in Detroit Public Schools. While working at DPS, she went on to pursue her master's degree from the University of Michigan, where she was a Rockefeller Fellow. In 1976, Ms. Moreno spent a year in Costa Rica teaching at the Costa Rican Academy. 

Ms. Moreno’s university degrees afforded her the knowledge and expertise to serve in advancing leadership roles, guiding her to a role as the Associate Superintendent of Genesee Intermediate School District. She retired from the Associate Superintendent position in 1994, after a twelve-year tenure. She went on to serve as a Consultant for Instruction for the Michigan Education Association, the largest public employee union in the state and the third-largest education association in the United States. In 2005, Ms. Moreno was appointed Director of Programs for Special Needs for the Michigan Department of Education.  During her tenure, Ms. Moreno worked on a project acquiring oral histories of Mexican American families who moved to Michigan to work on sugar beet farms. Ms. Moreno officially retired from the Michigan Department of Education in 2010.

Ms. Moreno supports CMU through donations to The Literacy Center, Teacher Education, and Professional Development Study Abroad program in Oaxaca, MX, as well as the Education and Human Services Building, President’s Club, and the College of Music. However, her dedication to Central Michigan University goes beyond her generous monetary donations. Ms. Moreno served on the CMU Advancement Board and the CMU Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1990.

Rachael Moreno has received many accolades throughout her career as an educator and administrator. Not only was she recognized as the First Hispanic Principal in Michigan, but she was also the Founder and First President of the Hispanic Scholarship Foundation of Michigan. She has been awarded the Grand Rapids Community Service Award, Detroit Education Task Force Appreciation Award, and as the Governor’s Appointee for the Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs.  

Ms. Moreno has also received multiple awards from Central Michigan University including: The Alumni Recognition Award in 1981, the Centennial Year Award in 1992, and now the Dick Enberg Alumni Commitment Award in 2020.