On September 22nd 2012 at 5 am, Pat Engle passed away in New York. She was a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology and Child Development of Cal Poly and an Honorary Professor of the University of Hong Kong.
Those of us working on early childhood development issues, and who were fortunate to interact with her, know that her death means the loss of a lead researcher in the field of child development in the developing world. Moreover, her departure leaves those of us who met her tremendously sad.
In addition to her enormous intelligence, brilliant career and commitment, Pat had a special glow in her eyes and a smile that never left her face. Her passion radiated around her in any conference room. When you met her, you felt a deep admiration for her knowledge and talent, but you also felt that you loved her. This is a rather unique feeling to get at once, and it happens only with very special people.
Pat played a key role in one of the most important projects that IDB has led recently, PRIDI. This initiative will generate high-quality data on the status of young children and their families in Latin America. Pat’s contributions to this project were essential. Moreover, at IDB we were privileged to have Pat as an advisor for many other activities.
This post is a tribute from the authors of this blog to the trajectory of Pat Engle. The children and mothers of Latin America and the Caribbean will miss her as much as we will. That is for sure.
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