Carol Moerdyk earned a B.B.A. in finance summa cum laude from Western Michigan University in 1971. Moerdyk, a Kalamazoo native, was a member of WMU's Lee Honors College as an undergraduate and subsequently worked on a Ph.D. in finance at the University of Michigan.
She began her professional career in higher education, serving as an assistant professor of finance at the University of Maryland from 1976 until 1979, when she joined the Federal National Mortgage Association as a senior analyst.
From 1981 to 2003, Moerdyk worked in various positions at the Boise Cascade Corp, including director and vice president, corporate planning and development; vice president, office products division; senior vice president and chief financial officer and treasurer; and senior vice president, North American and Australasian contract operations.
When Boise Cascade acquired OfficeMax in 2003, Moerdyk became its senior vice president—international. She retired from that position in September and now serves as a director of Libbey Inc. and the American Woodmark Corp.