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Harold Takooshian

   
   
Robert Roy Clark    

SPSSI-New York Regional Group: 40 years later

Harold Takooshian, Professor, Fordham University
Robert Roy Clark, Psychologist

SPSSI history was made on July 11, 1984, when the first SPSSI Regional Group was launched in New York City with a meeting of three local members: psychologist Rob Clark and Professors Jeff Shaw (NYU Business School) and Harold Takooshian (Fordham University). Forty years later, SPSSI-NY still goes strong, hosting about 20 activities each year for local SPSSI members, their guests and students. Thanks to Justin Belsley, many SPSSI-NY activities now appear online at www.spssi.org/ny

Since 1984, SPSSI-NY has arranged over 500 diverse activities—including some memorable conferences, workshops, symposia, and forums with distinguished speakers passing through the Big Apple.  These included many past-Presidents of APA (like Philip Zimbardo), SPSSI (like Otto Klineberg), authors (like Robert Jay Lifton), and international leaders (like B.F. Lomov of Russia).  For many attendees, SPSSI-NY public activities were an introduction to the purpose of SPSSI--to apply scientific research to timely social issues. From 2000-2019, an estimated 347 people joined SPSSI after attending a local gathering.

In the 1990s, SPSSI-NY officers actively supported the new SPSSI team at the United Nations [photo 1]—Hedwin Naimark, Rob Clark, Pete Walker, Corann Okorodudu.

In spring of 2024, SPSSI-NY offered 9 diverse activities featuring over 25 presenters. One was a forum for 40 students on “Careers in applied psychology” at Fordham University, now available on video: https://youtu.be/3MXexHuISOw   On March 9, a SPSSI-NY forum marked the 60th anniversary of the Kitty Genovese tragedy on New York City streets on March 13, 1964;  video: https://tinyurl.com/yu7ucv63     On April 25, SPSSI-NY hosted a local “watch party” for the 17th annual Psychology Day at the United Nations.”  On May 4, SPSSI-NY offered a panel at Hunter College on "Psychology in New York City: What’s new?”

To join the SPSSI-NY listserv, contact Professor Harold Takooshian at takoosh@aol.com 


Back on 11/14/1991, Rob Clark takes a SPSSI-NY group on a tour of the UN building


In March of 2013 at Fordham University, SPSSI-NY members celebrated the 80th birthday of Philip G. Zimbardo (center) with 3 other APA past-Presidents (l to r): Florence L. Denmark, Frank T. Farley, Jerome S. Bruner.


On 5/4/2024, a SPSSI-NY symposium on “Psychology in New York City: What’s new?”


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