DenMag -- Parker Lichtenstein

What makes a “Renaissance Man”?

Is it academic experience from north to south, from New England to the Pacific coast?

Does literary and humanities proficiency qualify one, or is it administrative and executive capacity on display that certifies you as Renaissance-ready?

Or could wartime service, from the Arctic Circle edges of the Atlantic, to the isolation of Pacific Ocean tropical islands, afoot and afloat as a lieutenant with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, put you in that particular category?

Of course the answer is “all of the above,” and more.

Parker Lichtenstein served as Acting President of Denison University, an exclamation point punctuating a distinguished career as a member of the faculty in the Psychology Department, its chair from 1951-54, Dean of the College from 1954 to 1970, and in many more roles across campus until his retirement in 1978.

As befits a “Renaissance Man,” along with professional articles on psychology throughout his career, Dr. Lichtenstein was a tireless reader and regular book reviewer. His life was not simply lived out in print or in the classroom, but also in community service through Granville Rotary, deacon and board member at First Baptist Church of Granville, and in many professional societies and organizations.

His wife of 66 years, Marion R. (Locke) Lichtenstein preceded him in death just this past April; since Parker’s death at 95 on Jan. 24, 2011 their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren now carry their memories back across the country - his son, Parker R. (Kathleen) Lichtenstein of Leesburg, FL; daughters, Karen R. Lichtenstein of Olympia, WA and Barbara L. Lichtenstein of Aurora, CO; grandson, Steven (Erin) Lichtenstein of Studio City, CA; and great-grandson, Keith S. Lichtenstein of Studio City, CA.

Born in Massachusetts, where his early education carried him through a BS & MS in psychology at the University of Massachusetts and studies under luminaries like B.F. Skinner, he came to the Midwest for a PhD at Indiana University, then to Ohio teaching at Antioch College. Here at Denison, the breadth of his personal and professional career still extend into myriad remembered influences that, with each new generation of students, have the potential to spark a renaissance of their own.