Donald Bersoff

Donald N. Bersoff served as Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University from 1969 to 1971, with a joint appointment in the Faculty for Exceptional Children and the Department of Psychology. He earned a BS in English Education in 1958, an MA in Educational Psychology in 1960, and a PhD in Psychology in 1965, all from New York University. Bersoff later obtained a JD from Yale Law School in 1976, serving on the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal. Early in his career, he practiced clinical psychology with the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1968, in private practice, and as director of a college counseling center. He advanced to Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia from 1971 to 1973, followed by roles as Professor in the Department of Psychology at Johns Hopkins University and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law from 1976 to 1982, where he coordinated a joint JD-PhD program in law and psychology.

Bersoff specialized in the intersection of law and psychology, focusing on mental health law, ethical issues in psychology, professional issues, application of social science to law, legal regulation of psychological assessment, and school psychology. He edited the landmark Ethical Conflicts in Psychology in four editions (1995, 1999, 2003, 2008) and authored over 100 publications, including articles in American Psychologist, University of Chicago Law School Roundtable, Law and Human Behavior, Ethics & Behavior, and Journal of School Psychology. His career included directing the nation's second joint law and psychology graduate program at Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, founding director of the JD-PhD program at Villanova University School of Law and MCP Hahnemann University (later Drexel), and Professor Emeritus at Drexel University Kline School of Law. Awards include the Lifetime Contribution Award from the American Psychology-Law Society (2002), Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association (2000), Ethics Educator of the Year from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association (2000), and Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science and Profession (1997). Bersoff served as APA President (2013), APA General Counsel (1979-1989), past president of the American Psychology-Law Society, and held editorial board positions for Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law; Professional Psychology: Research and Practice; Behavioral Sciences and the Law; and Ethics and Behavior. He chaired committees such as the Blue Ribbon Panel and Policy and Planning Board of the APA and contributed to national panels including the National Academy of Sciences.