Tribute for Prof. Dorothy McCormick (SNDden)

by Njeri Muhoro

Dorothy McCormick, a scholar par excellence as well as a dedicated Sister of the Notre Dame Order, is no more. Dorothy went to be with her Lord on December 9, 2023 at the age of 82 years, and 64 years as a Sister of the Notre Dame de Namur.

It is an honor to write this tribute for Research Professor, and Sister of the Notre Dame order, Dorothy McCormick, who was a mentor, a friend, colleague, teacher, scholar, educational administrator, board trustee, In whatever role we knew her, from whatever vantage point, she stood apart as someone special! An inspiring being and erudite scholar; she inspired many students, colleagues and  scholars in numerous ways and the University community .

Dorothy McCormick earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Trinity College, and pursued an MBA at the University of  Pennsylvania, while  also being a Sister in the order of Notre dame. Dorothy also acquired an MA and PhD from the Johns Hopkins University. Dorothy was recruited as an expatriate by the University of Nairobi in 1988. She was deployed to the Institute of Development Studies and served as research fellow, rising through the ranks to Research Professor in 2009. Prof Dorothy retired from service at the University, in 2018, after serving 15 two year contract terms. Her experience and academic capacity had been such that in 2001, she was appointed Director of IDS, a position in which she served until 2007.

Prof McCormick was committed to research. Her research and teaching areas include theory and practice of entrepreneurship; micro and small enterprise development; Industrialization and development, with particular emphasis on textiles and clothing; Aid and development, and in later years, .public transport.  Many attest that underlying her work was theories of enterprise clusters, value chains, entrepreneurship and institutions, and she was such an authoritative voice  on small enterprises in Africa, that  her work inspired, guided  thousands of students, practitioners and writers  across the globe.

Prof. McCormick had a gift of innovating mentorship, consciously, she engaged in a one on one with students on academics and beyond.  Beyond this, Prof had a quiet but undaunted   visionary spirit, and the tenacious patience required to successfully lead meaningful institutional reform. Indeed Prof. oversaw three markers of the new IDS, in: teaching, team building and new forms of development communication and engagement. Ultimately, IDS research became not only policy oriented, but also action oriented.

Dorothy McCormick was ardent and passionate about teaching and excellence; her former students on record confirm that they were privileged to have learnt at her feet and some, to even have been employed after their studies, to work with her as colleagues. Our memories of Dorothy McCormick are to keep up with the pursuit for knowledge and to serve in whatever capacity, however great or humble the position, because society needs our input.

In 2019, at a ceremony organised to honor Prof McCormick, many described her as a mentor, and they testified that Prof McCormick was instrumental in finding internships for her students at Trocaire, before their graduation thus launching their careers. Speaker after speaker described her as an academic referee, as a guide, one who brought to bloom flowers of academic excellence and multiplied their effects.

Others described her as the supervisor of supervisors at IDS because of her detailed attention to the process of supervision. “Through her voluntary seminars on her own time, she taught us the whole research process from proposal development, Literature review, annotated bibliography, referencing, where she had a detailed guideline, and how to search for literature on goggle scholar. Then she instructed us clearly on how to deal with data sets and analysis etc. She was such an inspiration that she helped most of us to grow and to create impact research and policy directions”.

It was a privilege for us to have been a part of the work of Professor Dorothy McCormick. Her work and life, though we deem too short, was a life well lived. She remained a determined, visionary, collaborative, goal-oriented, caring person of the University and all that it offered. Through both her scholarship and practice, she made a significant contribution to the Institutes for Development Studies, at Nairobi, Sussex, and South Africa.

Dorothy McCormick published 239 journal articles alone or jointly with others, at an all time citation of 4179, and a h-index of 31, i10 index of 64. This indeed was academic and public recognition of her distinguished career. “Her contributions were powerful and her work ethic more than remarkable.  Energy, commitment, integrity are all words that begin to capture our lasting memory of Dorothy. She was one of a kind and will be sorely missed as a colleague, scholar and friend”.

We therefore mourn her passing, but we are buoyed by the fact that like Dorothy,  continuously affirmed,  we must be devoted to development at local, regional and global  fronts and to make time for  colleagues, is friends, and  the IDS family.

As Prof Dorothy McCormick is laid to rest on 15 December, 2023, in Maryland, we pray for the repose of her beautiful soul that will be missed by many, but never will she be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to have known her.