Ceremony honors Frank McGuigan's generosity

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) honored Frank Joseph McGuigan, PhD, in a ceremony in Psychology Plaza, outside of APA's Washington headquarters, on Saturday, June 12. The occasion, officiated by Joseph D. Matarazzo, PhD, president of the APF Board of Trustees, marked the dedication with a permanent plaque in McGuigan's memory set in one of the plaza benches. One of McGuigan's daughters, Joan April McGuigan, with her husband Richard Hirn and their daughter Chelsea, and McGuigan's son, Richard, with his daughter Jennifer, attended the ceremony. Members of APA's Board of Directors and of the APF and APA staff also participated.

McGuigan was director of the Institute for Stress Management at the United States International University in San Diego, where he also served on the faculty for 15 years. From 1950 through 1983, he held appointments at a number of academic institutions, including Pepperdine University; North Carolina State University; the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of Hawaii; the George Washington University; the University of Nevada; Hollins College; and the University of Louisville.

McGuigan served in the U.S. Navy during World War II in the Pacific arena, and received his doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1950. He was considered to be one of the most prominent teachers and practitioners of progressive relaxation, a technique for relaxing the body and mind through the tensing of individual muscle groups in succession.

He served as the editor of the International Journal of Stress Management from 1993 until his death, and wrote numerous articles and books. During his long career, he received many important national and international honors, including medals of honor from the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences and the Union of Scientists of Bulgaria, as well as two Nobel Prize nominations in psychophysiology. APF honored him with its Distinguished Teaching of Psychology award in 1973 and its Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Application of Psychology in 1995.

A long-time friend and patron of the foundation, McGuigan died from cancer complications in April 1998. He left a charitable trust to the foundation, which is now valued in excess of $320,000. This money is part of the fund that supports APF's general scholarships endowment, and will be used to support research grants in the areas of violence prevention and the relationship between mental and physical health relations.

In 1996, he instituted the F. Joseph McGuigan Lecture Series on Understanding the Human Mind, which selects an outstanding individual each year to present a lecture at APA's Annual Convention that will showcase recent scientific research on the psychophysiological nature and functioning of the human mind. A bequest in McGuigan's estate ensures the perpetuity of this series, as well as continued research in this area of inquiry.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Matarazzo echoed an earlier observation made by APA chief executive officer Raymond D. Fowler, PhD, that McGuigan "was one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever known." On behalf of the APF board, Matarazzo presented the McGuigan family with a personal remembrance of the occasion, noting that their father and grandfather was "one of the Foundation's most creative and generous donors, whose generosity and farsightedness can serve as an inspiration to all members of our profession."



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