Sad news
It is with great sadness that I report that Mary McEvoy,
Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of
Minnesota and friend, colleague, and inspiration to many was
killed Friday, October 25 in a plane crash in Eveleth Minnesota.
Mary was traveling with Senator Paul Wellstone, Sheila Wellstone,
and five others, en route to a funeral and as part of a day of
campaigning.
Mary’s professional contributions were many – she
joined the University of Minnesota in 1990, she served as
director of the early childhood special education program, she
directed the Center for Early Education and Development from 1993
to 1999, and she chaired the Department of Educational Psychology
from 1999 to 2002. Her research focused on social interaction and
inclusion for young children with disabilities, prevention and
early intervention for problem behaviors, environmental factors
affecting development of children exposed prenatally to drugs and
alcohol, and (most recently) development of efficient tools for
describing preschoolers’ development, particularly in early
literacy. She also was a gifted teacher, and an effective mentor
and colleague to many.
We will miss Mary for her many skills, but we will also miss her
for incredible energy, enthusiasm, and love. She was
quick-witted, quick-tempered, adoring, committed, and devoted.
She had an energy and style that was all her own, and that drew
so many to her.
Mary is survived by her husband Jamie, their children Clare (age
16), Becca (14), and Luke (12), her mother and several sisters
and a brother, and hundreds of friends and colleagues.
Mary will be missed.
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Scott McConnell
Director, Center for Early Education and Development
October 26, 2002