What Can Be Accomplished in 25 Years: In Memoriam of Dr. Stafford Hood

Abstract

Dr. Stafford Hood left this earthly realm on Sunday, January 15th, 2023. His sudden passing created ripples of grief and rumination throughout the evaluation community. Hood was an evaluation and assessment expert, scholar, practitioner, teacher, and innovator. Last year, 2023, marked the 25th anniversary of his talk “Responsive Evaluation Amistad Style,” where he introduced the term “culturally responsive evaluation.” There have been a plethora of tributes to him (see the Hood Obituary, Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment [CREA] Statement, University of Illinois, CREA–Dublin, M. Q. Patton Video, American Evaluation Association Blog). Thus, as a board member of the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, CREA affiliate faculty member, and mentee of Dr. Hood, the author humbly offers some brief professional and personal reflections on his legacy 1 year after his passing. How much time is needed to uplift unheard voices, rectify years of erasure, change theory, shift praxis, connect scholars, and mentor the next generation? Dr. Stafford Hood accomplished all of this and transformed the landscape of our field in a mere 25 years. He introduced a revolution, rectified years of erasure, created a movement, and solidified his legacy.