APF Honorary Trustees

Richard C. Atkinson, PhD is the President Emeritus of the University of California. An internationally respected scholar and scientist, Atkinson became the fifth chancellor of UC San Diego in 1980. Atkinson was appointed deputy director of the National Science Foundation by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and two years later became director. At NSF, he had a wide range of responsibilities for science policy at a national and international level, including negotiating the first memorandum of understanding in history between the People's Republic of China and the United States, an agreement for the exchange of scientists and scholars. Atkinson's scientific contributions have resulted in election to the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Education, and the American Philosophical Society. He is past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, former chair of the Association of American Universities.

Nancy Cantor, PhD is the 11th Chancellor and President of Syracuse University, as well as Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Cantor came to Syracuse from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she was chancellor. Dr. Cantor is recognized for her scholarly contributions to the understanding of how individuals perceive and think about their social worlds, pursue personal goals, and how they regulate their behavior to adapt to life's most challenging social environments. She is co-author or co-editor of three books and author or co-author of numerous book chapters and scientific journal articles. She has been an advocate for racial justice and for diversity in higher education. Cantor has also lectured and written extensively on liberal education and the creative campus. She received her A.B. in 1974 from Sarah Lawrence College and her Ph.D. in psychology in 1978 from Stanford University.

Raymond D. Fowler, PhD is the former Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer of the American Psychological Association (APA). He received his PhD in psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology from the Pennsylvania State University, and in 1956 he joined the faculty of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he remained until 1986, when he was appointed professor emeritus. In 1987, he was appointed professor and head of the psychology department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he served until June 1989, when he assumed his position at APA. He has contributed to research literature in psychology, especially in the areas of substance abuse, criminal behavior, and personality assessment. He pioneered the development of programs to reduce juvenile delinquency, and the development of classification systems for juvenile justice and prison programs. Dr. Fowler has been recognized for his work in the area of personality assessment. In the early 1960s, he developed the first widely used method of computer interpretation for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

Joseph Matarazzo, PhD is the former head of the Department of Medical Psychology at the Oregon Health Sciences University, a post that he held for more than 40 years. The 97th president of the American Psychological Association (1989), Matarazzo is a distinguished researcher in the areas of the clinical interview, cognitive and intellectual functioning, and health psychology. He has served as president of the Oregon Mental Health Association, the American Association of State Psychology Boards, the International Council of Psychologists, and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, as well as on the board of the National Association for Mental Health. Among his many honors is the 1991 Distinguished Professional Contributions Award for Distinguished Contributions to Knowledge of the American Psychological Association.  Matarazzo also served on the APF Board of Trustees for over a decade, and served as APF President.

Judith Rodin, PhD is the president of the Rockefeller Foundation. Rodin is the former president of the University of Pennsylvania. During a decade of service to the University, Rodin guided Penn through a period of unprecedented growth and development that transformed its academic core and dramatically enhanced the quality of life on campus and in the surrounding community. She also expanded the university’s international programs and collaborations, including initiatives to address global health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, and efforts to address women's health issues in Saudi Arabia and India. Previously, Rodin was on the faculty of Yale University, and served as provost from 1992 through 1994. At Yale, she earned an international reputation as a pioneer of the health psychology movement. She has published more than 200 articles and chapters in academic publications and authored or co-authored eleven books.

Claude Steele, PhD is the Lucy Stern Professor of Psychology, joined the Stanford faculty in 1991; previously, he served on the faculties of the University of Michigan, University of Washington, and University of Utah. Professor Steele's research interests are how people cope with self-image threats; how group stereotypes can influence intellectual performance; and addictive behaviors. Professor Steele has served as president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, president of the Western Psychological Association, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Society. Professor Steele is a recipient of numerous awards, among which are the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize, the Distinguished Scientific Career Awards from both the American Psychological Association and American Psychological Society. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and was elected last spring to the National Academy of Sciences.

Ruby Takanishi, PhD is President of the Foundation for Child Development. Before working at the Foundation, she was Assistant Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education in the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), working on education reform and The Children’s Initiative. From 1986-1996, Takanishi was executive director of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, an operating program of Carnegie Corporation of New York. She was the founding executive director of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences (1982-1983), and head of the Office of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association from 1984-1986. In 1998, the Association awarded her the Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy Award. Takanishi was educated in the Hawai’i public schools, and holds a B.A. (Psychology) and Ph.D. (Education) from Stanford University.