Moody-Adams was close with her father, and they would listen to opera and classical music together on the weekends.
[1] At Cornell, she was vice provost for undergraduate education and Hutchinson Professor of Ethics and Public Life.
In February 2009, Moody-Adams co-sponsored with university funds a controversial student display on the Cornell campus by the Islamic Alliance for Justice consisting of signs and 1300 flags representing dead Palestinians and Israelis.
"Her breadth of experience working on many issues of vital importance to the university and her deep academic insights have enriched Cornell in multiple ways.
On August 20, 2011, Moody-Adams announced her resignation from the deanship, effective the following June 30, after only two years on the job, citing changes in Columbia University policy toward Columbia College that made it impossible for her to remain in her post.
[11] In addition, Moody-Adams stepped down because of concern that changes being made would greatly affect both the finances of the college and the academic quality.
Her first book, Fieldwork in Familiar Places: Morality, Culture, and Philosophy, was written in 1997 and published by Harvard University Press.
Political hope is upheld through social policy and motivation to pursue justice at all levels.