Ernest McCormick papers
Scope and Contents
The Ernest J. McCormick papers document the professional and personal life of Ernest McCormick. The majority of the collection covers his professional career, including the records of professional associations that Ernest belonged to; work he completed for the United Stated military, committees and panels to which he was appointed, Purdue University, and his own company PAQ Services, Inc.; and publications written or collected by Ernest on the subject of human factors engineering, ergonomics, and job analysis.
Personal papers in the collection document Ernest’s high school and college studies; his friendship with Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, the daughter of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth; and correspondence, newspaper clippings, and recipes that he maintained.
Also included in the collection are items Ernest collected related to his family, including his family genealogy, books owned by his father and brothers, family photographs and correspondence, and materials created by his wife Emily and three daughters, Wynne, Jan, and Colleen.
Dates
- Creation: 1870 - 1994
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1945 - 1989
Creator
- McCormick, Ernest J. (Ernest James) (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection material is primarily in English. Italian and Japanese are also present.
Access Information
Majority of the collection is open for research. Some materials in series two and three have been restricted due to the presence of personally identifiable information.
Copyright and Use Information
Copyright held by Purdue University or original creator. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.
Biographical Information
Ernest J. McCormick was born in Indianapolis on August 22, 1911, but grew up in Ohio, where he received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1933. Before coming to Purdue University in 1946 to pursue his graduate education in industrial psychology, he had worked with the U.S. Employment Services, the Bureau of the Census, and the Selective Service System. As chief of the planning unit, job analysis and information section, he laid the groundwork for a job classification and coding system for federal agencies, which later evolved into the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945, becoming a lieutenant commander before he retired due to illness. Within three years at Purdue (1946 to 1948), he received his master’s degree and his Ph.D., upon which he joined the faculty ranks at Purdue until his retirement in 1977. During his three decades at Purdue, McCormick wrote more than 200 major articles and book chapters on job analysis, classification and evaluation.
As a respected mentor in the field, he advised more than 120 graduate students, many of whom have become renowned members in the area of industrial and organizational psychology. While at Purdue, he taught Purdue’s first engineering psychology course, which eventually led to the publication of "Human Engineering" in 1957. The seventh edition of this book, now entitled "Human Factors in Engineering and Design," was published in 1993 and is available in multiple languages.
Awards in McCormick’s honor have been established in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Purdue University and at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Alumni who studied with Ernest McCormick and the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University established the Ernest J. McCormick Fund to endow a lectureship in his memory.
Sources:
Jeanneret, P. Richard. “In Memory of Ernest J. McCormick (1911-1990).” Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Web. 18 September 2017. /www.siop.org/Museum/TIP/Jeanneret%20(1990)%20McCormick%20obituary.pdf>.
Koppes, Laura. “Ideals of Science: Persons Behind the SIOP Awards.” Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Web. 18 September 2017. /www.siop.org/tip/backissues/tipapr99/8Koppes.aspx >
Extent
3.48 Cubic Feet (Two cubic foot boxes, one legal-size full-width manuscript box, one letter-size half-width manuscript box, one letter-size full-width manuscript box, three folders, and nine flat folders.)
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series by subject
- Personal Papers
- Family Papers
- Professional Career
- Publications
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The New Testament and journals in series 2 are fragile and should be handled with care.
Acquisition Information
Collection donated by Wynne Lewis, July 11, 2017.
Processing Information
Whenever possible, the original order of the materials has been retained. All materials have been housed in acid-free folders and acid-free boxes. All newsprint has been photocopied and original newspaper clippings have been discarded.
Subject
- McCormick, Ernest J. (Ernest James) (Person)
- Gilbreth, Frank B. (Frank Bunker), 1868-1924 (Person)
- Purdue University. Faculty (Organization)
- American Psychological Association (Organization)
- National Research Council (U.S.) (Organization)
- Gilbreth, Lillian Moller, 1878-1972 (Person)
- One white graduation tassel
- Title
- Ernest McCormick papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jennifer Sdunzik, Amanda Rumba, and William Niner
- Date
- 2025-04-29
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Edition statement
- Third edition. Collection description was first completed 2017-09-13.
Revision Statements
- 2019-11-11: This collection description was updated by Amanda Rumba to meet data entry requirements.
- 2025-04-29: Collection reprocessed and descriptions updated by William Niner.
- Box: 1 (Mixed Materials)
- Box: 2 (Text)
- Box: 3 (Text)
- Box: 4 (Text)
- Box: 5 (Text)
- Communal Collections Box: 47, Placement: 16 (Text)
- Communal Collections Box [Restricted]: 57, Placement: 02 (Text)
- Communal Collections Box: 58, Placement: 04 (Text)
- Communal Collections Box [Restricted]: 80, Placement: 05 (Mixed Materials)
- Communal Collections Box: 91, Placement: 06 (Mixed Materials)
Repository Details
Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository
504 Mitch Daniels Boulevard
West Lafayette Indiana 47907 United States
765-494-2839
archives@purdue.edu