Former Faculty
Berk, Laura
Those who know Laura Berk will understand that she is unlikely to ever retire from her profession. How could she when there is no time to retire? Laura is always working on a new book or has just had one published, is in demand to give keynote addresses at conferences worldwide, and is supervising outstanding neophyte researchers.
To mark Laura’s formal retirement, however, the Department of Psychology held a celebration of her years and established an Illinois State University Foundation fund in her name. Laura designated the purpose of the fund and made a generous initial donation to what is now the Laura Berk Undergraduate Student Writing Award for psychology majors. Laura thanks friends and students who have made donations, and invites everyone to share in her support of excellence.
Binning, John
John Binning is retired. He can be contacted at jbinning@ilstu.edu.
Creasey, Gary
Gary Creasey is retired. He can be contacted at glcrease@ilstu.edu.
Friedhoff, Walter
Few faculty members have had the opportunity to make such a great contribution to the advancement of psychology programs at Illinois State University as Dr. Walter H. Friedhoff. Elected in 1966 as the first department chairperson of the newly created Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Friedhoff ushered in a period of tremendous growth and innovation for the department. He was instrumental in transforming the Department of Psychology from a small group of 20 doctoral faculty members scattered across campus into a cohesive unit comprised of 45 faculty members housed in one centralized location.
During his 10 years as chair, Dr. Friedhoff made substantial additions to course offerings and increased emphasis on research. Additionally, the Department of Psychology created such a demand in the graduate program that increased numbers of applications allowed the department to become progressively more selective in admitting new students. The department dedicated the Walter H. Freidhoff Conference Room in DeGarmo Hall on October 16, 2009.
Dr. Friedhoff passed away August 18, 2013. He will be long remembered for the many contributions he made to the Department of Psychology in his 37-year career at the university. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation , Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Gnagey, Bill
After 38 years of teaching thousands of students, many of them budding educators taking PSY 215 Educational Psychology, Bill Gnagey loves living a student’s life again himself. After his retirement in 1999, he takes courses at the Illinois State Senior Academy, attends an educational program called "Mornings with the Professors," writes and presents topic-centered papers, volunteers at the McLean County Nursing home, exercises daily, and travels abroad. Most important, he hangs out regularly at a local eatery with his buddies, Walt Friedhoff, Skip Lemke, and Gary Ramseyer. Bill’s one official role is that as member of the Board of Directors of the Unitarian Church, where he has long been a committed congregant.
Goldstein, Mel
After 15 years as Psychology Department Chair at Winthrop University in South Carolina, Mel Goldstein has stepped aside as Chair and retired from teaching. He looks forward to an active retirement in Charleston, SC and welcomes e-mail from past students.
Serving on Illinois State's Psychology faculty from 1971 to 1990, he taught courses at all level in General, Social, Experimental, and Personnel/Organizational Psychology. He also taught Motivational Psychology, Personality and Senior Seminar: Psychology Applied to Global and Social Issues. He co-developed the graduate curriculum in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
Grupe, Audrey
Many of our alumni remember with fondness the generous contributions that Dr. Grupe made to their professional development as school psychologists. Audrey was the first School Psychology program director at Illinois State University, serving from 1968-1987; she was Director of the Psychological Services Center on campus; and she was the architect of our Illinois State Board of Education-approved school psychology program. During her tenure at Illinois State University, Dr. Grupe contributed to educating well over 300 school psychologists.
Dr. Grupe’s generosity and that of her friend Mary Jane McCarthy, a former social worker in the Bloomington Public Schools, has continued with their establishment of the Audrey J. Grupe Fellowship in School Psychology. Dr. Grupe and Ms. McCarthy established the Fellowship in remembrance of the financial aid they each received while pursuing their degrees as well as in commemoration of their respective professional careers.
They have shown a commitment to fostering the development of new professionals dearly needed in the service of children and their families in the school setting. The Fellowship continues to fund one entering specialist degree student each year for his or her two years of on-campus training. Funding includes a tuition waiver and the financial equivalent of a full-time graduate assistantship. School Psychology faculty are very grateful to Dr. Grupe and Ms. McCarthy for their concern for and contribution to school psychologists and the children of the future.
Dr. Grupe passed away on May 31, 2018, in Spring Hill, FL. A memorial was held on July 26, 2018, at Funks Grove Church in McLean, IL. All who knew her and were touched by her life will miss Audrey. Memorials may be made in her honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation, Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Jarvis, Patricia
Patricia Jarvis is retired. She can be contacted at pajarvis@ilstu.edu.
Johnson, Jim
Jim Johnson retired in December, 2002 with 36 years at Illinois State University. Few faculty have had the opportunity to impact as many students in their careers as Jim. In General Psychology alone, Jim taught over 15,000 undergraduates. In Theories of Personality, he taught over 1000 graduate students. Jim chaired or was second committee member for over 100 master’s theses. As a staff psychologist at the Student Counseling Center for a number of years, Jim impacted many students there as well.
"Dr. J," as Jim was affectionately known by students, devoted considerable time to students outside the classroom assisting in the Athletic Study Center, the Student Psychology Association, the Golden Key International Honour Society, and the psychology honors program. Jim’s service awards are manifold, including Teacher of the Year, Herb Sanders Advisory Award, Distinguished Psychology Alumnus, and the Stretch Miller Award from the Athletics Department. His research did not suffer, though, as he investigated parenting styles, worked on prediction of graduate performance, directed a field study for McKnight Publishing Company, and was a research consultant for reading programs.
Jim was one of the longest standing members of noon hour basketball at Horton Field House. Neither did he give up tennis or fishing with university buddies or tutoring student athletes. In fact, Jim kept his hand in at teaching General Psychology up through the Fall 2012 semester.
Dr. Johnson passed away on October 21, 2013. A Celebration of Life was held on November 9, 2013 at Illinois State University. All who knew him and were touched by his life will miss Jim. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation, Campus Box 8000, Normal IL 61790-8000.
Lamb, Doug
In June 2000, Doug officially retired from the University in his two major roles of Director of the University Counseling Services and Professor of Psychology. When asked to continue teaching a course or two in Psychology, Doug jumped at the opportunity. He continued teaching the professional issues graduate course (now PSY 470 Legal, Ethical, and Practice Issues in Clinical-Counseling Psychology) through fall 2004. Although he kept his office in the department for one more semester, Doug is now officially no longer on the Psychology faculty roster and is pleased to be involved in other professional activities.
Doug is well known for his research contributions, particularly in the areas of ethics, professional boundaries, professional impairment, and his "15 minutes of fame" article with Dr. Glenn Reeder on class reunions that appeared in Psychology Today (and was featured as the cover story and artwork). He has received numerous awards within the University, locally, and at the national level. Doug is currently consulting with the local mental health center, as well as with therapists from several private practice groups.
Doug and Gail's children live and work in Bloomington-Normal and it is great to have their two grandchildren in town. We are pleased that Doug continues to drop in to see us from time to time, always recognizable by his many caps, occasional bizarre humor, and his colorful ties.
Lewis, Marge
Dr. Lewis was a member of the Department of Psychology for over 20 years and of the Illinois State University community for over 35 years.
Marge, as she was known to her friends and colleagues, arrived at Illinois State in 1951 as a teacher of students with physical disabilities. She was a "master teacher" working in the laboratory school and conducting teaching methods workshops nationwide for other special education teachers. In 1966, she joined the Department of Psychology as part of the school psychology graduate program, where she remained until her retirement in 1987.
Dr. Lewis was a respected and beloved professor to over 400 graduate students in the school, and clinical and counseling psychology graduate programs, as well as the hundreds of undergraduate students in her Psychology of Exceptional Children (PSY 346) classes. She was a strong and independent woman but warm and supportive to students and colleagues alike.
Dr. Lewis passed away on May 11, 2005, in Normal, IL. All who knew her and were touched by her life will miss Marge. Memorials may be made in her honor to the Department of Psychology, School Psychology Program, c/o Illinois State University Foundation , Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Pryor, John
John Pryor is retired. He can be contacted at pryor@ilstu.edu.
Ramseyer, Gary
Gary Ramseyer, a professor of psychology passed away on March 27, 2012. Gary, who was known as our in-house Dr. Humor of the stat set, retired in December, 1998, after more than 30 years of service. He taught math at University High School and received his doctorate in educational statistics from the University of Iowa in 1965.
Although he was widely known in measurement circles for his three publications with Dr. Valjean Cashen on the use of separate multiple-choice answer sheets in the early elementary grades and in statistical circles for his robustness studies of the q-statistic with Dr. Kup Cheng, he is perhaps more widely acclaimed for his website called the First Internet Galley of Statistics Jokes , which was developed in 1997. Dr. Ramseyer's son, Joel, will continue to update this statistical website.
All who knew and were touched by his life will miss Gary. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation , Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Redding, Gordon
Gordon Redding was unique—a Texan in a cowboy hat and boots—who taught perception and cognition at Illinois State for 30 years (1972-2002). Gordon stood tall and was a "straight shooter" in everything he did. And he did a lot at Illinois State. He helped to bring an interdisciplinary curriculum in cognitive science to the University. He was completely dedicated to his research program and to the students who assisted him. His research focused on visual perception, including studying the well-known Müller-Lyer illusion. Often, he asked research participants to walk through the lower level of DeGarmo Hall while looking into a prism, which distorted vision. Gordon then studied how the visual system would adapt and re-align itself—so research participants could keep from walking into the walls!
Gordon's research on prism adaptation turned out to have an important practical benefit for people with a type of brain damage called unilateral neglect. Individuals with this disability notice visual stimuli on only one side of their body. When these individuals look into a prism, the visual system is forced to adapt in healing ways. For his research efforts, Gordon received two University awards: College Researcher in 1998 and University Researcher in 1999.
Gordon remained active during his retirement, traveling to distant places such as Egypt and China, and serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington, Ill.
Dr. Redding passed away on August 1, 2013. All who knew him and were touched by his life will miss Gordon. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation , Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Reeder, Glenn
Glenn Reeder is retired. He can be contacted at gdreeder@ilstu.edu.
Schmaltz, Leonard
Leonard Schmaltz, professor of psychology for 26 years, died October 30, 2000 surrounded by his family. Len was known for many accomplishments both within the department and Illinois State University. Among them was his scholarship, his unsurpassed teaching skills, his broad perspective on diverse issues, and his unprecedented 11 years as president of the Academic Senate at Illinois State.
Certainly Len’s greatest love and commitment was teaching, and perhaps his greatest notoriety was accorded him by his students who affectionately dubbed him “Captain Lenny.” Year after year, Len’s reputation was passed down and students regularly oversubscribed his General Psychology classes. He taught with characteristic flair until the day before his hospitalization.
The University community acknowledged his many contributions in a memorial service on November 20, 2000. Len will be a legend very fondly remembered for years to come.
All who knew him and were touched by his life will miss Lenny. Memorials may be made in his honor to the Department of Psychology, c/o Illinois State University Foundation , Campus Box 8000, Normal, IL 61790-8000.
Stevens, Michael
Michael Stevens retired from Illinois State University in 2014 after 33 wonderful years. He served as coordinator of the graduate program in counseling psychology (now clinical-counseling) for 16 years, and was especially fond of preparing master's degree students for applied professional practice upon graduation. As his career evolved from counseling to international psychology, Michael established ties with universities in Romania and Grenade, where he continues to teach and collaborate on research.
He recently took a position as an affiliate faculty member with the Doctoral Program in International Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. His contributions to Illinois State and international psychology aside, Michael views his retirement as an opportunity to enjoy his family most of whom reside in Bloomington, Ill. and to being involved in his young granddaughter's life.
Williams, Jerry
After leaving Illinois State in 1980, I was at the University of South Alabama, in Mobile, for 25 years. I was in administration for ten years and returned to the classroom for the last 15 years. I have been retired since 2005. In between trips and grandchildren, I work with golf teams and golf professionals as a sports psychologist—but only when I want to!! I have enjoyed seeing former students. I have communicated and visited with quite a few students from Illinois State. I would love to hear from more. My snail mail is 3560 B Pelham Drive, Mobile, AL 36619.
Williams, Macon
Macon Williams, esteemed professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology for over 30 years and chairman of the Department of Psychology for 6 plus years, retired in December, 1999. For Macon, retirement is an expansion of his life activities. Long a disciple of the liberal arts muse, he finds “much to see, hear, experience, and read about. “I do not see how anyone can get bored!”
During this first portion of retirement, Macon relaxes in travel, exercise, visiting relatives, reading “whatever appeals,” and reflects appreciatively on the students and colleagues who enriched his academic years. Perhaps, in time, Macon will leave what he calls his “vacation mode.” Then again, perhaps not!