News
Remembering Charles F. Flaherty, professor of psychology
Archived article from Nov 15, 2004
Charles F. Flaherty, 67, professor of psychology at Rutgers for
37 years, passed away Oct. 4 after a battle with liver cancer. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Nov. 23, in Kirkpatrick Chapel on Old Queen’s campus.
A scholar of international distinction, Flaherty published more than 100 scientific papers and authored or co-authored five books. He enjoyed a wide range of interests – history, politics, classical music, B-52’s and baseball. In the scientific realm, he studied animal learning, cognition, motivation, emotion and the use of behavior to study the brain.
Flaherty devoted himself to the promotion of psychology as an empirical science, to his department, to Rutgers and to education in general. One of the architects of the current psychology department, he provided leadership through his impeccable standards and vision. During his five terms as chair, the department grew from one of little distinction to one of scholarly renown. His early recognition of a new direction in the field of psychology toward biology and chemistry led him in 1980 to help establish a then-unique program in behavioral neuroscience as an area of graduate training. He was a devoted teacher both in the classroom and in the laboratory. “Charlie was always interested, inspirational and available to us all,” said Julia Turovsky, one of Flaherty’s former students.
Flaherty attended a ceremony Sept. 24, at which the department established an undergraduate award in his name. In addition, a teaching laboratory has been named in his honor and marked with a plaque given by his graduate students.
– Department of psychology
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