Professor Richard McCormick was honored for his contributions to engineering education at the 7th annual Winter Technical Conference Jan. 22 at the Marshall University Student Center.

The Society of American Military Engineers/ American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter officially changed the name of the Winter Technical Conference to the Richard F. McCormick Technical Conference. Student chapter president David Cooper made the official announcement, and commemorative coins marking the transition were passed out to attendees afterward.

McCormick said he was overwhelmed by the honor.

“I was speechless,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why I put off talking to the end. I’m overwhelmed by it. I thought [the conference] was a great idea for us, and for them to rename it in my honor, it won’t sink in for a while. The way I feel right now is overwhelmed.”

The special presentation in his honor came as a surprise to McCormick, but he said he had a feeling that something was planned for him.

“When I told them that I had a presentation to give that was 20 minutes long when I was slated for an hour, they said, ‘That’s okay,’” he said. “I was thinking, ’What kind of egotistical person are you to think they’re doing something special?’ But I had a hint. A few people said they were going to be there. But I had no idea this is what they were going to do.”

McCormick was also honored with new and existing awards for teaching and engineering education during the conference including the SAME/ASCE student chapter Bridge Builder Award.

The event’s closing remarks ended with McCormick encouraging students, friends and faculty to continue supporting Marshall and the university’s engineering program. He also suggested there should be more cooperation between the West Virginia University Institute of Technology and Marshall engineering programs.

The professor said he plans to attend the conference every year.

McCormick retired from teaching at the end of the Fall 2015 semester at Marshall. He taught engineering education at WVU Tech and Marshall for more than 40 years.

Next year’s conference, which will bear the new name, will be Jan. 21, 2016.

Patrick Breeden can be reached at Breeden16@ marshall.edu.