In 1966, he took the position as professor of Assyriology at Harvard University, and was respected as a rigorous and learned teacher of the Akkadian language who could easily discuss problems in Biblical lexicon and literature.
In 1985, he was appointed Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities Emeritus, and in 1996 he was made a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In 2005, a 224-page book titled 'Biblical and Oriental Essays in Memory of William L. Moran,' edited by Agustinus Gianto for Biblica et Orientalia 48 was published by Roma: Pontificio Istituto Biblico to honor his career and memory.
[1] His doctorate, under W. F. Albright, studied Canaanite glosses in the Amarna letters and was significant for the understanding of biblical Hebrew.
Many other journal articles concerned illuminating studies of Akkadian literature, including the Gilgamesh Epic.