I have many wonderful memories of my year at the Center (1982-83), particularly those associated with lively friendships and the advancement of several research projects. Regarding the latter, A Century of Psychology of Science, co-edited with Sigmund Koch, was subsequently published by McGraw-Hill and recognized by the Association of American Publishers as “the most outstanding scholarly and professional book in 1985 on the social and behavioral sciences.” (The same volume was reissued in 1992 as a major centennial publication of the American Psychological Association.) Also during my fellowship year, I conducted preliminary research on the role of metaphor in psychology, which led to another edited book, Metaphors in the History of Psychology (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1890), and influenced other publications in a variety of ways. But what I remember best about my fellowship year are the enlightening conversations over coffee and lunch, the stimulating sessions of our Metaphor Study Group, the many fascinating presentations and informative discussions related to our weekly Fellows Research Presentations, and the assorted courtesies of the Center’s director, Gardner Lindzey, and its associate director, Bob Scott. In the summer of 1986, I returned to the Center as the Co-Director of a Summer Institute on the History of Social Scientific Inquiry, which led to various research projects and publications by its participants. In 1989, I was about to return to the Center as a Fellow, to work on a book about William James, when I accepted the position of Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Richmond, a position I held for 13 years. I have no doubt that my earlier selection as a Fellow at the Center and then as Co-Director of the Summer Institute were factors in the offer I received. When I returned to teaching and research in 2002, I began to pursue a line of research that had first come to mind during my 1982-83 fellowship. Thus, in various ways, my fellowship year of more than 30 years ago has not only reverberated throughout my subsequent career; to a considerable extent, it has shaped it. I am very grateful.
David E. Leary
University Professor
University of Richmond
Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1982-83
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