Education, the English language and Omega Psi Phi were lifelong devotions for the married father of three. Willie Norman, said younger brother Moses displayed a love of learning from an early age. After high school, Norman moved to Atlanta to attend what was then Clark College and began the path to two education careers – first in Atlanta Public Schools and then in higher education.

He received his undergraduate degree in English from Clark College in 1957, his Master’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1963 and his Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Management from Georgia State University in 1978.

Dr. Moses C. Norman Sr. was initiated into Omega Psi Phi on December 13, 1954 through the Beta Psi chapter at Clark College. In the picture below, you can see him in 2nd row, standing 4th from the left.

Bro. Norman was one of the first Black educational leaders in the Atlanta public schools, starting out as a teacher before advancing to become one of the first African-American area superintendents and later assistant superintendent for secondary education.

As an area school superintendent, Bro. Norman organized all schools into feeder attendance clusters with the goal of fostering cooperation in planning, implementing and assessing the schools against their academic expectations. He established two Saturday schools that offered tutoring in math and writing to elementary and high school students. He also had key roles in establishing several high school magnet programs, in expanding gifted education and in creating an annual fine arts festival for K-12 students.

Bro. Norman later moved to the Atlanta University Center, where he was a teacher/coordinator in pre-college programs for academically talented students. He also was an adjunct professor of leadership and policy studies at Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morris Brown College and the University of West Georgia.

He also was the longest-serving Grand Basileus of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., serving as the 33rd Grand Basileus from 1984 to 1990. He was instrumental in the fraternity establishing a credit union & the Fraternity’s Leadership Conference was named after Bro. Norman.

He also was former Director of Football Officials for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and worked more than 20 NCAA championship playoff games, including the Division II National Championship game in 1993.

He had a long list of community associations and awards and took an active role in his church. He was chair of the deacon staff, was a Sunday morning Bible study teacher and member of the Sanctuary Choir.