A couple years ago, Professor of Theology John McCormick’s oldest two sons, Joe and Ben, created a business, McCormick & Partners, which is focused on providing resources and strategic partnerships for real estate buyers, sellers and investors.
“As the business expanded, I saw the opportunity to work alongside them by bringing my experience in teaching coupled with my interest in business,” McCormick explained. “The thing I have enjoyed the most is the opportunity to meet new people. The world of small business is really about people helping people.”
So far, while it’s sometimes a challenge working with his two sons — both of whom are Newman alumni (Joe is a 2015 management information systems graduate and Ben is a 2019 business administration graduate) — McCormick has found great joy in teaming up with them.
“As my youngest will be turning 18 this year, my schedule is less about running kids around and more about working alongside them,” he explained. “One of my hopes is that by working as a (real estate agent), I will be able to better bring practical business experience into the classroom, helping students to see some of the real-world implications of what they may be studying.”
This real-world learning happened for both Joe and Ben as well when they were Newman students.
McCormick shared that early in Joe’s sophomore year, McCormick had a friend who told him to make sure Joe began an internship that year and not wait until he was a senior.
By working as a (real estate agent), I will be able to better bring practical business experience into the classroom, helping students to see some of the real-world implications of what they may be studying.
John McCormick, professor of theology at Newman
“He did that and leveraged his internship into a job as an outside contractor his junior year, followed by a full-time position his senior year,” McCormick explained.
He added that Ben worked for a property management company as a student and learned about real estate in the process.
“After graduation, he decided to get his real estate license, and he and Joe co-founded the company,” McCormick said. “They both had the advantage of seeing firsthand the practical application of the business education they were receiving. I now have the opportunity to learn from their experience and hopefully find ways of incorporating that experience into my own teaching.”
One of his biggest takeaways from working with McCormick & Partners is that in addition to clients, each with their own needs, there is not only a network of real estate agents but also a number of associated businesses such as mortgage brokers, insurance agents, home inspectors, contractors and more. Each plays a role in helping families find affordable housing that serves their needs.
As a Newman faculty member, where he’s taught theology since 1996 and even earned an MBA in 2008, McCormick has focused on looking at business through the lens of Catholic social teaching. A few years ago, this led to the development of a course called “What is Business For?” that McCormick created in conjunction with a now-retired accounting professor, George Smith.
“The main idea is that business ought to focus on goods and services that meet genuine human needs, be organized in a way that respects the dignity and creativity of the worker, and distribute wealth justly,” McCormick said. “In short: good goods, good work and good wealth.”
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