Paul M. Muchinsky 1947 – 2015
By Veronica Schmidt Harvey and Patrick Powaser
With a heavy
heart, we share
the news that Dr.
Paul M. Muchinsky
passed away at his
home on Tuesday,
September 8, of
pulmonary fibrosis at the young
age of 68. He is
survived by his
wife Kay, daughter Andrea, sons Brian and
Zachary, six grandchildren, and hundreds
of grateful students.
In quintessential Paul style, he was
well-prepared, even for death, by writing
his last column of High Society, by ensuring that the legacy of his book—Psychology Applied to Work®—would be continued, and by enlisting former students to
prepare his “serious” obituary.
Paul was the inaugural recipient of SIOP’s
Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004, and
for good reason. He dedicated his life to
teaching I-O psychology at both Iowa State
University and in the Bryan School of Business & Economics at UNC-Greensboro. He
spent over 42 years teaching and actively
mentored to the very end of his life. While
at Iowa State, Paul shepherded 24 students to obtaining their PhDs and served
on committees for many more graduate
students. At UNCG, Paul’s focus shifted to
teaching undergraduates, many of whom
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were first-generation college students. I
am extremely proud and privileged to have
been one of his doctoral students at Iowa
State.
In a recent conversation, Paul said his
years at Iowa State brought out the best
of his brain. He then warmly said that
his years at UNC-Greensboro brought out
the best of his heart. The UNCG students
seem to agree, and he was proud of that.
We encourage you to read his students’
comments at http://www.ratemyprofessors.
com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=657392 . They are
heartwarming and inspiring.
As most of you know, Paul’s most
far-reaching impact on teaching was the
publication of the textbook Psychology
Applied to Work®. It has become the most
widely read I-O textbook in the history
of the field. What many of you may not
know is Paul was a baseball fanatic, and a
New York Yankees fanatic, more specifically. His official photo at UNCG was of him in
his Yankees jacket. In the final week of his
life, he continued writing a blog on baseball that is dedicated to his grandchildren
and is his legacy to them.
In 2008, Paul received an honorary doctorate, the Doctor of Science, from his
undergraduate alma mater, Gettysburg
College. More important to Paul than his
honorary degree was that U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor also
October 2015, Volume 53, Number 2
received an honorary doctorate the same
day. Paul proudly said, “Quite inappropriately I dragged her on the dance floor
and we boogied to ‘Celebrate, Celebrate,
Dance to the Music.’ I ended the dance by
putting my arm around her and kissing her
on the cheek.”
Toward the end of his life, we both had the
opportunity to reflect with Paul on his legacy. He truly cared about his students. Both
his personal interest in his students and his
ability to help students apply psychology
to their own lives was remarkable. Paul
not only opened the doors to learning and
practicing I-O psychology, he helped build
confidence in his students of their capability to walk through them. Paul instilled a
sense of responsibility in others to teach
(not just academics) and help others grow.
The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
Although Paul was an undeniably skilled
researcher and practitioner, he will be best
remembered as a wise (and yes, sometimes wise-ass) teacher. Despite Paul’s
illustrious awards and honors (he was a
Fellow of four divisions of APA, including
SIOP), what mattered most to him was the
impact he has had on the lives of others. The contributions he made through
his teaching, mentoring, and his textbook
have undoubtedly contributed to the
growth in I-O psychology over the past 4
decades. I can think of no better criterion
of “impact” than to grow the members of
our profession. Paul’s humor, wisdom, and dedication to
teaching will be greatly missed.
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