Dawn McCormack, PhD, joined Samford University as dean of Howard College of Arts and Sciences in July of 2023.  Previously, she served as Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Associate Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   

McCormack is an Egyptologist. She combines the history of ancient Egypt with scientific inquiry, textual analysis and cultural perspectives. Her research has centered on the 13th dynasty kingship, including archaeological excavations of a royal tomb at Abydos. Additionally, she has worked on Coptic (early Christian) sites. McCormack has also contributed to pedagogical research and a white paper on the importance and benefits of a Liberal Arts education. She has been actively involved in High Impact Practices (teaching in ways that impact student learning and success), such as study abroad and Reacting to the Past, including unscripted role-playing games set at critical points in history. McCormack has also received awards for advising and teaching.   

Degrees and Certifications

• BA, Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania 
• PhD, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania 

Publications

• McCormack, Dawn and Jennifer Westerfeld. “A Desert Hermitage South of Abydos: Preliminary Work of the Abydos Survey for Palaeolithic Sites, Historic Division,” in Late Antique Abydos, edited by Elisabeth R. O’Connell. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan. Leuven: Peeters (2020), 211-222. 
• McCormack, Dawn and Karen K. Petersen. “Impact and Perception: Reacting to the Past at Middle Tennessee State University.” In Playing to Learn with Reacting to the Past, edited by C. Edward Watson and Thomas Chase Hagood. London: Palgrave MacMillan (2018), 17-39. 
• Abd el Salam, Heba, Dawn McCormack, and Brenden Martin. “Connecting People with Their Museum.” Journal of Museum Education 42.4 (2017), 385-395. 
• McCormack, Dawn. “The 13th Dynasty at Abydos: A Royal Tomb and its Context,” In Proceedings of the XI International Congress of Egyptologists: Florence, Italy 23-30 August 2015, edited by Cristina Guidotti and Gloria Rosati, Oxford: Archeopress Egyptology (2017), 395-400. 
• McCormack, Dawn. “2014 Season of the South Abydos Mastabas Project.” Bulletin of the American Research Center in Egypt 206 (Summer 2015), 3-27. 

Presentations

• McCormack, Dawn and Javier Clavere “Creating a Positive Work Environment: Transformational and Humanistic Leadership Models.” Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences 59^th Annual Meeting, Austin, November, 2024.
• McCormack, Dawn. Keynote Speech: “The Thirteenth Dynasty at Abydos: Context and Significance,” Uncovering Abydos, The Egypt Exploration Society, Cairo, Egypt, Virtual, December 5-7, 2023.
• McCormack, Dawn, “Impact, Significance, and Controversy: The Legacy of the Description.”
• Ancient Egypt Rediscovered: A Journey through the “Description de’l’Égypte,” Virtual, Qatar National Library, November 15, 2023.
• “Women's Summit Panel” Nashville Women Leader Association, Birmingham, Virtual, October, 2023.
• McCormack, Dawn. “A Lost Royal Tomb at Abydos: The Re-Excavation of Abydos Tomb S9 and its Insights into 13th Dynasty Kingship,” Egypt Society of Bristol (U.K.), Virtual, 2022.
• McCormack, D., D. Herreiner, A. Goss, and V. Robinson.  “Raising our Voices: Reclaiming the Narrative on the Value of Higher Education, ‘Galvanizing Students, Faculty, and Institutions by Making Learning Meaningful: Reacting-to-the-Past at Different Institutions,’” AAC&U, Atlanta, January, 2019.
•  Petersen, Karen and Dawn McCormack. “Articulating the Value of the Liberal Arts: Branding for External and Internal Audiences.” Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences 53^rd Annual Meeting, Chicago, November, 2018.
• McCormack, Dawn.  “A Conversation on Examining High Impact Practices Like Reacting to the Past and Its Impact on Students and Faculty.” Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER).  Virginia Tech University, February 20, 2018.