James S. McCormack Scholarship

A visionary leader in the field of environmental engineering, James Stuckey McCormack was founding president of Environmental Testing, Inc. Established in 1971, the firm was Charlotte’s first environmental analytical and engineering lab, and the company worked with the region’s industries and municipalities to solve environmental issues.

From its two locations in Charlotte and Asheville, Environmental Testing dispatched engineers to test ground water, wastewater, hazardous waste, and smokestack emissions. The lab also examined air conditions in workplaces, monitored potentially harmful noise levels and evaluated structures for asbestos contamination.

McCormack also founded Commercial Laboratories Association of North Carolina, for which he was a director and president, and he was a member of the Carolinas Air Pollution Control Association and the Air and Hazardous Waste Management Society.

A respected, dynamic business leader, McCormack was a scholar, author and consultant, too. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana and a Master of Science from the Ohio State University. In addition, he completed postgraduate studies at North Carolina State University in experimental statistics.

As a registered professional engineer in four states, McCormack held engineering positions with E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, Inc. and Corning Glass Works. He was a project engineer for Wright Air Development Center of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and served as vice president of management consulting at Schwenk & Associates, Inc. His honors include being named a diplomat of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association. He also was a principal of McCormack & Associates of Charlotte.

Within the community, McCormack was active with the University City Rotary Club, a chapter of the international service organization. The Rotary’s purpose is to bring together leaders to provide international humanitarian services at home and abroad, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help to build goodwill and peace throughout the world. In 1987, the University City Rotary Club established the James S. McCormack Rotary Scholarship at UNC Charlotte to honor its devoted member and leader. In 1999, the McCormack family endowed the scholarship for adult, nontraditional students at the University.

In addition to his support of the work of the Rotarians and to all who were employed by him, McCormack truly was devoted to his wife Elayne, son Parrish and daughter Sue. He was an active member of St. John’s Baptist Church in Charlotte, and he left a remarkable legacy to those who knew his love of his family and fellowman and his distinct goals to make life better for all of us. He passed on May 18, 1990.

To make a gift to the James S. McCormack University City Rotary Scholarship, please visit the OASES Make a Gift web page.

For all who knew him, James S. McCormack epitomized the Rotary Club’s motto of “Service above Self.”