James C. Naylor

Dr. James C. Naylor Industrial Psychologist; Author; Retired Chair, Ohio State University Psychology Department Dr. James C. Naylor, 81, passed away on Friday July 12, 2013 in Columbus Ohio. An educator and psychologist, he had a distinguished career as a scholar and educational administrator. Known for his calm demeanor, great sense of humor, and ability to handle crisis and conflict with ease, he chaired both the Psychology Department at Purdue University, his alma mater, and the Psychology Department at Ohio State, where he retired as Professor Emeritus of Psychology in 1998. In 1976, he received a Fulbright Research Scholar Award at the University of Umea, Sweden and in 1982-83 he was the Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Flinders University of South Australia. Respected for his views on undergraduate and graduate education, he served as a consultant and evaluator of psychology programs to many universities, and was the Lead Consultant for the Florida State University System 1996 review of psychology programs in all Florida State Universities. In 1984 he was appointed to UNESCO to serve as a consultant to Hangzhou University, Peoples Republic of China, to aid in establishing engineering and management psychology programs after the end of the cultural revolution. He authored more than 60 articles, two books and numerous presentations. He founded the scientific journal ?Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes? in 1966 and served as its editor for 32 years. He also founded the Society for Organizational Behavior in 1975. He was elected as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychological Society. He was listed in Who?s Who in the World. He was also elected to membership in numerous honors societies, including Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Eta Sigma. He was a member of the Psychometric Society, the Psychonomic Society, the Society of Mathematical Psychology, the International Association of Applied Psychology, and the Judgment and Decision Making Society. Born in Chicago, Illinois on February 8, 1932, he spent his youth in Ripon, Wisconsin, where he graduated from high school in 1950. He then served four years in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician during the Korean War. It was during his time in the Navy while on leave in Memphis Tennessee that he met the love of his life, Georgia Lou Mason. He picked her photo out of a yearbook as the person he wanted to have a blind date with and they were married on Valentine?s Day, 1953. Honorably discharged from the Navy in 1954, he attended Purdue University, receiving his B.S. in 1957 with highest distinction in economics and psychology, followed by M.S. 1958 and Ph.D.1960 degrees in psychology. He then joined the faculty at The Ohio State University as an assistant professor in the department of Psychology and as a research associate at the Aviation Psychology Laboratory. By1961 his family had grown with the addition of three daughters. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1963 and to Professor and Associate Department Chair in 1967. In 1968, eight years after acquiring his PHD from Purdue, he returned to Purdue University, this time as Head of the Department of Psychology, a position he held for 11 years during which time he guided the growth and quality of the department. In 1986, he accepted the position of Chair of the Department of Psychology at Ohio State, returning to where he began his career. He served as Chair at Ohio State for 12 years, during which time he directed the development and growth of its department as it also substantially increased in size and reputation. He retired as Professor Emeritus of Psychology in 1998. He loved objects d?art, appreciated the finer things and had a great eye for detail. He also enjoyed international travel. He and Georgia devoted much of their private time to seeing the world and its peoples. Equally at home in a great museum or a back alley flea market, he was similarly eclectic in his love of good food of any cuisine, being happiest in some small family catfish restaurant or in the food stalls of Singapore. In his later years he especially enjoyed traveling to Texas, Hawaii and California to spend time with his daughters and grandchildren at their respective homes. He was a voracious reader, often reading three or four novels over a weekend to the dismay of those trying to communicate with him. He loved to play golf, but he would tell you that he was a golfer with more enthusiasm than talent, A quiet person of good cheer, he enjoyed life and greatly loved his wife, family and friends. His family will greatly miss his sense of humor, calm demeanor, courage, and dignity which he displayed even at the end. He is survived by his beloved wife of sixty years, Georgia, his daughters Mary Denise Naylor Sam Sacco of Oakland, CA, Diana Darice Russell Hirsch of Kailua, HI, and Shari Dalice Mogollon of Dallas, TX, as well as seven grandchildren: Kelly Jeff Sweazea, Kristin Christian Hildebrand, Lauren and Megan Hirsch, and Briana, Adrianna, and Andrew Mogollon, and great grandson Charles Sweazea. The family would like to thank Vitas Hospice for the wonderful care by Nurse Mindy Moore and Aide Brandy Nos. There will be a celebration of his life on Monday July 29th at the OSU Faculty Club at 4pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in his honor may be sent to the Dr. Daniel Jolly and Dr. Greg Ness Student Research Fund #603475, c/o The Ohio State University Foundation, 1480 W. Lane Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43221.