| Raymond D. Fowler | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Professor Emeritus, University of Alabama. Adjunct Professor, San Diego State University. Former Executive V.P., CEO, American Psychological Association |
| Spouse | Sandra Mumford Fowler |
| Children | Karen, Derek,and Michael Fowler; James and Monica Mumford |
Raymond D. Fowler, (born December 22, 1930) is an American psychologist and Professor Emeritus of the University of Alabama. He was president of the American Psychological Association (1988) and subsequently served as APA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1989 to 2003
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Raymond Fowler was born in Jasper, Alabama, a small coal mining town in the mountainous north central region of the state. His mother was a public school teacher. His father was an accountant and later director of the Alabama State Retirement System. Fowler is married to Sandra Mumford Fowler who specializes in intercultural psychology. They have a blended family of five children and five grandchildren. An autobiography of Fowler was published as: Computers, criminals, an eccentric billionaire and APA: A brief autobiography. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87(3), December 2006, 234-248.
Fowler was educated in the public schools of Alabama. He received a BA degree in 1952 and an MA degree in 1953 in psychology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He received his PhD in psychology with specialization in clinical psychology from the Pennsylvania State University in 1957.
In 1956, Fowler joined the faculty of the University of Alabama, where he remained until 1986, when he was appointed professor emeritus. From 1965 to 1983, he served as department head. In 1987, he was appointed professor and head of the psychology department at the University of Tennessee, where he served until June 1989, when he assumed his position as APA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer.
Fowler has been recognized for his work in the areas of substance abuse, criminal behavior and personality assessment. In the early 1960s, he developed a method of computer interpretation for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.
He was appointed in 1976 by Federal District Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. to direct a court - ordered prison reform program that included assessing every prisoner in the Alabama prison system and recommending educational and rehabilitation programs for them.
In 1976, Fowler was retained by the estate of Howard R. Hughes, who had died without a will, to determine his mental status at various periods of his life.
In 1998, Fowler was elected treasurer of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and a member of its Executive Committee. In 1998, he was Secretary General for the IAAP’s XXIV International Congress of Applied Psychology.
At the state and national level, Dr. Fowler has been a member of the National Advisory Committee on Alcoholism of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He was a task force member of the President’s Commission on Mental Health and was an invited participant to the White House Conference on Health and the National Conference on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. He has been a consultant to the Director of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, the Veterans Administration, and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. From 1965 to 1968 he was vice-president of the Council on Human Relations, the first biracial human rights group in Alabama.
Fowler served as APA treasurer (1982–1987, became its 97th president in 1997 and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 2003.[1]
In 2003, the APA established two Raymond D. Fowler Awards in his honor. These awards are given annually to a member and to a staff membber who has made "a significant and enduring impact on APA as an organization and who has shown a clear dedication to advancing APA’s mission".[2]
In 2000, he was the recipient of the APA award for Lifetime Contributions to Psychology and the Division of International Psychology’s Distinguished International Psychological Award for his significant contributions to global psychology. In 1979, he was the first U.S. psychologist invited to visit the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing after relationships resumed between the two countries, and he has returned to China on many occasions to lecture and to participate in professional conferences. In 2008, he received the American Psychological Foundation's Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychology in the Public Interest "For contributions to the applications of psychlogy in the public interest at the national and international levels."
Fowler has contributed to the research literature in psychology with articles, books, chapters, and other publications, especially in the areas of substance abuse, criminal behavior, and psychological assessment (References below).
Whatever one’s view of APA, few can dispute that Fowler, more than any other individual, made APA what it is today. The CEO of APA for over thirteen years, Fowler served in one capacity or another on the APA Board of Directors for twenty-five consecutive years. Few could reasonably disagree that Fowler was the main mover in the APA during his CEO years.
Two of Fowler’s goals for APA were to get the diverse constituencies working together and to restore financial stability to the association, which was close to bankruptcy. His success in achieving these goals was documented in the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Association in 2000 as follows: As the Chief Executive Officer of the Association, now serving an unprecedented term of 15 years, you have been unstinting in your devotion to making a better APA by healing the rift between science and practice, by putting the Association on a solid financial footing, by creating harmony among all the households in the neighborhood we call psychology, and by articulating a compelling vision for our future."
Since leaving the American Psychological Association, Fowler has been a consultant to international organizations. In 2006, he was elected president elect of the International Association of Applied Psychology and he will become IAAP president in 2010.
American Psychological Association (2000). Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology. Presented to Raymond D. Fowler, PhD at the 108th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. Fowler, R. D., Jr. (1967). Computer interpretation of personality tests: The automated psychologist. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 8(6), 455-467. Fowler, R. D., Jr., & Marlow, G. H. (1968). A computer program for personality analysis. Behavioral Science, 13(5), 413-416. Fowler, R. D., Jr. (1969). Current status of computer interpretation of psychological tests. American Journal of Psychiatry, 125 (7), (Suppl.), 21-27.
Fowler, R. D. Jr., & Miller, M. L. (1969). Computer interpretation of the MMPI: Its use in clinical practice. Archives of General Psychiatry, 21, 502-508.
Webb, J. T., Miller, M. L., & Fowler, R. D., Jr. (1970). Extending professional time: A computerized MMPI interpretation service. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26(2), 210-214. Fowler, R. D., Jr. (1985). Landmarks in computer assisted psychological assessment. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 53(6), 748-759. Fowler, R. D., Jr., (1986). Howard Hughes: A psychological autopsy. Psychology Today, 20(5), 22-33. Fowler, R. D. Jr., (1987). Developing a computerized interpretation system. In J. N. Butcher (Ed.). Computerized psychological assessment. New York, NY: Basic Books. Fowler, R. D., (2006). Computers, criminals, an eccentric billionaire and APA: A brief autobiography. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87(3), 234-248.
| Educational offices | ||
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| Preceded by Unknown |
CEO & Executive V.P. American Psychological Association 1989 - December 31, 2002 |
Succeeded by Norman B. Anderson, Ph.D. |