Remembering Professor Robert McCormick

Psychology professor and founding director of the Center for Child Advocacy, Robert D. McCormick, died unexpectedly in January, leaving a legacy of improving child welfare in the state of New Jersey.

In April, at a campus memorial service celebrating McCormick’s life and achievements, University President Susan A. Cole announced that the center would be renamed the Robert D. McCormick Center for Child Advocacy and Policy.

“It is fitting that the center be renamed the Robert D. McCormick Center for Child Advocacy and Policy,” says Marietta Morrissey, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “He was a pioneer in understanding the need for greater academic programming in the area of child welfare and children’s rights.”

McCormick served Montclair State for more than 40 years. Under his committed direction, the center became a unique educational, training and public service initiative. It provides both a broad range of academic program opportunities to University students and vital services to the agencies serving New Jersey families.

McCormick also helped establish a productive partnership with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families to better prepare staff to understand the needs of those receiving state services. “Similar programs elsewhere in the nation now number nearly 50,” notes Morrissey. “Many were designed with his input and are modeled after the Montclair State center.”