Dear SFS community,
I write with the sad news that Theodore (Ted) H. Moran, emeritus professor at SFS and a leading scholar in international business and foreign direct investment, died on Sunday, April 27, 2025. He was 81.
Ted held the Marcus Wallenberg Chair in International Business. At SFS, he taught for decades and directed research at the intersection of international economics, business, and public policy. He was the founder of the Karl F. Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy, serving as its director from 1978 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2020. Over his career, Ted authored more than three dozen books and major publications. His work addressed political risk management, globalization and the role of foreign direct investment in economic development. Notable titles included Outward Foreign Direct Investment and U.S. Exports, Jobs, and R&D (2013), Foreign Direct Investment and Development (2011) and Harnessing Foreign Direct Investment for Development (2006).
Ted was known for his courses, Business and Investment Negotiations and Globalization: Challenges for Developed Countries. In 2012, he led Georgetown’s first foray into online education by creating one of its earliest massive open online courses (MOOC), Globalization’s Winners and Losers, which enrolled over 35,000 students globally.
Before joining Georgetown, Ted taught at Harvard University, Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Early in his career, he served on the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State from 1977 to 1978, focusing on energy policy, investment, economic negotiations and security issues related to the Persian Gulf. He also participated in U.S. policy talks in Brazil and Japan.
He returned to government service from 1993 to 1994 as senior advisor for economics at the U.S. State Department, contributing to discussions on trade, finance, technology, energy and environmental policy during the period of the NAFTA and Uruguay Round negotiations.
Ted directed the Pew Economic Freedom Fellows Program at Georgetown from 1994 to 1999, training senior officials from former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe and Asia in market economics and trade policy.
In addition to his academic work, Ted served as a consultant to the United Nations, various governments and the international business community. He was appointed Counselor to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank and chaired the Committee on Monitoring International Labor Standards at the National Academy of Sciences. He also advised the U.S. National Intelligence Council on international business practices.
Ted earned his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1971. He was a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Known for his clear thinking, mentorship and dedication to teaching, Ted influenced generations of students and colleagues. His work helped shape modern understanding of international investment and economic development.
He is survived by his three children, his daughter Grace (COL’16) and sons Rob (MSB’00) and James, as well as his four grandchildren, Willa, Zoe, Romeo and Harlow. He will also be missed by friends, colleagues and former students around the world.
Best,
Joel S. Hellman
Dean and Distinguished Professor of the Practice
School of Foreign Service
Georgetown University