In Memoriam
D. Chris
Anderson
(1934-2003)
D. (David)
Chris (Christian)
Dr. Anderson had a long and distinguished career
as a behavioral scientist. His doctoral
training was in the field of animal learning and motivation under the
supervision of Dr. Judson S. Brown. Also,
he worked closely with Dr. Seymore Levine while at
In the late 1970’s, as the federal budget to support behavioral research with animals began to
shrink and animal research facilities became much more difficult and costly to
maintain, Dr. Anderson began to pursue applied research and became very
interested in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). While animal work continued in his lab well into
the 1980’s, an increasing portion of his academic focus turned to the ways in
which basic laboratory principles of learning and motivation, particularly
those derived from behavior analytic research, could be applied to influence
and shape work performance within companies and organizations. Dr. Anderson was on the forefront of a
growing realization that the organizational sector could support its own
private research funding and could provide a behaviorally-rich laboratory-like
environment for examining important questions using careful and systematic
research procedures.
During the 30+ years he devoted to applied work,
Dr. Anderson, colleagues, and students at Notre Dame conducted a remarkable
number of research projects in organizational settings. His own estimates placed the number of such
projects well into the hundreds. When it
would have been easy and lucrative to act as a consultant to companies,
garnering substantial fees, instead he opted steadfastly to use these
opportunities to plan and implement systematic behavior analytic research to
(a) further our understanding of how work performance and organizational
success can be influenced and (b) train graduate and undergraduate
students. In lieu of consulting fees, Dr.
Anderson asked organizations to sponsor multi-year research grants through
Notre Dame to support this work. Most of the direct costs from these grants were
used to cover student and research expenses.
Throughout his career, Dr. Anderson’s research support for his basic and
applied work totaled well in excess of a million dollars. Using this support as a basis, he pioneered
in the creation of one of the first OBM graduate programs in existence.
Dr. Anderson authored approximately 90
publications, two text books on the methods of experimental psychology, a
monograph in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and several
chapters in edited books. Many of his
published articles (both basic and applied) have been well received and are
cited frequently in the literature. Collectively, his published and yet
unpublished work represents an impressive long-term commitment to behavioral research. Very likely, given the volume of his unfinished
work in existence, Dr. Anderson’s research will continue to appear for some
time through the collaborative efforts of colleagues and students.
As notable as was his published and unpublished research,
even more extraordinary was Dr. Anderson’s advocacy for his work and his
field(s). He and his students delivered
more than a hundred presentations at scientific conventions covering various
basic and applied research topics. Beyond
that, he accepted literally hundreds more speaking engagements in the private
sector for the purpose of describing general OBM principles intermingled with the
results of his own applied research. In
fact, so adept was he at conveying a message of importance and value to the business
world that he was called upon for 14 years to be the chief professional
development resource specialist for the US Army’s Management for Executives
Training Program. Moreover, until he was
no longer able, he served a principal resource for The Executive Committee (TEC)
International, a community and learning network for CEOs across the world. In addition, he was a sought-after keynote
speaker for many business conferences and special events. For all his non-academic speaking invitations,
he accepted only a modest honorarium (often used as additional funding for his continued
OBM research) and considered these opportunities to be an extension of his
teaching mission. In the university
classroom, Dr. Anderson was a renowned teacher in a variety of subjects
including OBM. He also felt strongly from
a teaching standpoint about involving graduate and undergraduate students in
various facets of his research.
Throughout his career, he supervised many basic and applied Master’s theses
and doctoral dissertations, and inspired many more undergraduates to pursue
academic or professional careers.
***
I knew Chris Anderson for 35 years
during which time I had the distinct privilege to have been his student, his colleague,
and his friend. Like so many other of
his colleagues and students, I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his
many influences on my life and my career.
I first met Chris midway through my
second year at Notre Dame and in his first year as a new faculty member. By the
time I came to know him, he had already established an active animal learning
lab in the department staffed mainly by undergraduate research assistants. In
the summer after my second year, I got the chance to work in his lab. This
turned out to be a fateful opportunity, for it greatly influenced both my
outlook on the field of psychology as well as my choice of graduate schools. In
addition, it brought me into contact with instrumentation, electronics and
computers, laboratory tools that would captivate my interest for many years to
come.
As my first academic mentor, Chris Anderson
persuaded me that behavior, both animal and human, was a subject matter
amenable to scientific analysis and understanding. He first instilled in me a
deep-seated belief in the inherent orderliness and lawfulness of behavior.
Knowledge of these laws, I came to believe, was essential to any effort to
improve the human condition. How else could we expect to eradicate ills such as
prejudice, violence and aggression, so prevalent in our society? Surely, as
Chris convinced me, if laws of behavior existed, they operated without opinion
or permission. It seemed far better to know and exploit those laws, for noble
and humane purposes, than to let them act in blind and random fashion.
Along with encouraging me to have this
optimistic, if not idealistic, view of the behavioral science, Chris also had a
profound effect on my life in three other very important ways. First, he persuaded me to attend graduate
school at the
Chris modeled many admirable qualities for us
all, both in life and in the face of death.
Ever the dedicated professor, he worked even in his last days on unfinished
OBM papers and remarks he wanted to make at
To summarize a life is not easy. But, I think Chris would agree that the
measure of his own was not so much his numerous accomplishments as it was the
many, many lives he touched, influenced, and shaped along the way. In so doing, he enabled students, colleagues,
and friends to stand taller and reach higher than otherwise would be possible. He truly raised us up.
Teacher, mentor, researcher, colleague and
friend, you will be missed by all who knew and loved you.
Charles R. Crowell, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology
***
Chris was my colleague in the Department of
Psychology at the University of Notre Dame from Fall,
1969, when I joined the Department, until his retirement. Over those years,
Chris proved to be one of the most innovative and productive members of our
faculty. I worked most closely with Chris when we jointly developed an
Industrial Psychology course. Chris’s subsequent work on productivity in the
industrial and business management realms [OBM] was impressive. In
collaboration with
William E. Dawson, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology
***
There is so much about Chris that is hard to put
in words….
- Rapid recall: TEC
- His wit was a TEC
original. He would stroke his
mustache, look around, swear, and come out with a profound statement that
would bring the TEC group to a kind of contemplative paralysis.
- To me in the early
TEC years, he represented a carefully disciplined person, Clark Gable type
in physique and looks, who could take difficult subject matter that the
"man on the street" was oblivious about, and at the end of three
hours having the entire group (of CEOs) understanding and thinking through
the rudiments of behavioral concepts and methods in real world practical
settings.
- In the early days,
he would call me or Jim Handy seeking feedback on his performance. A true behaviorist, he wanted to know
how he could improve. He would
listen, and change.
- I remember him as a
giant intellectual, who never veered from his scientific acumen, but who
had a tear to share when it was appropriate. His presence was always magnetic to
those around him. We were blessed
in TEC to have this wonderful guy from Notre Dame bridge his academic
world meaningfully with our nonacademic world. And the TEC companies he worked with in
- Few academicians
can make the transition into the real world in a language that is
operative in the real world, that's not stuck in their deadly call for
tenure and the publication of stuff that people in the real world can't
understand or much less care about.
Chris did this brilliantly for hundreds of TEC members. I hope others in their protected tenured
"towers" will follow his great example.
Harris Dennis
President
TEC
***
I came to know Chris Anderson through a CEO
group. He presented one of the most
powerful and practical speeches I have ever heard on the topic of business
improvement.
It wasn’t until Chris became ill that I truly
got to know him. We had corresponded for
several months and I had planned to visit him in
Nonetheless, we spent a Saturday together. We lunched with his wife—his “Saint
Lois.”
I came to wish that in my misspent college years
I had instead encountered Chris. He was
an intellectual tour-de-force, interested in everything, strong in
argumentation, open to dialogue, gruff but filled with caritas.
When I left him, we concluded with a speculation
about the afterlife—and I could see Chris beginning to wrap up his life’s work
and his life.
We talked through the next 12 months—right up to
the week or ten days before his death.
While he was too ill or uncomfortable for me to visit again, I had the
pleasure of organizing a videotape of greetings and good wishes from colleagues
in the CEO organization and of several phone conversations right up to the end.
He departed this vale calmly conscious of a life
well-lived, a best effort. Although I
did not know him nearly as long as I needed and desired, count me among the
admiring and inspired.
Blessings on and comfort for those loved ones,
colleagues and students also left behind.
Craig Flynn
President
Upstate
Components Inc., and
4square CoActive Inc.
***
I first met Chris when I joined the psychology
faculty at Notre Dame in 1982. What I
most admired about Chris was his unwavering enthusiasm for engaging in
intellectual discussions with students and colleagues. Reflecting on his zeal for academic debate
reminds me of an anonymous course evaluation I once received from a student
that the major problem with my course was that it had forced him/her to “think
too much!” I would venture to say that the same “charge” could be applied to
Chris—he forced everyone around him to think.
What better definition is there of a Professor?
Scott E. Maxwell
Department of Psychology
***
Whenever I have considered Chris, I am
frequently lead back to the animal lab where I spent countless hours developing
research skills under his tutelage.
Chris' passion for research was passed on to me during those long and
challenging sessions. I am grateful for
the
experience. Chris
also introduced me to the application of behavioral science to the
organization, which has become an exciting and rewarding component of my
professional life. Teaching was a
constant for him and any setting was an opportunity to plant
seeds of thought and cultivate understanding. Chris would often leave you to wrestle
vigorously with
an idea or problem while keeping a circumspect eye on your
progress. It was an unnerving and
sometimes exasperating technique, but one that ultimately built resolve and
skill. Chris was brilliant, funny, and
his critiques were always motivated by kindness and concern for the
growth of his students. I will miss my mentor and friend.
Kari McArthur, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology
***
I would have to say that being given the chance
to do undergraduate research in Dr. Anderson's lab in my junior year as a
psychology major back in the fall of 1971 was truly the transforming event in
my entire career. Now that I am 54 years old, a professor at
I have never met anyone quite like Chris since
even though I have been in academia now for over 30 yrs. To be able to give
young people a sense of self confidence while challenging them to fulfill and
even go beyond their capabilities is a very rare personal talent. To anyone reading this, if you find a mentor or advisor with this
quality, latch on to him or her. Time passes so quickly and life seems
to be so short.
Joseph R. Moskal, Ph. D.
Dept of Biomedical Engineering
Director of the
Northwestern
University
***
Chris Anderson served as my primary doctoral
advisor while I attended the University of Notre
Dame. During those years he challenged
me as a student and as a person to develop a depth of inquiry and sense of
wonder about human behavior and the world around me. He relentlessly searched for the truth,
displaying unsurpassed creativity, drive and intelligence. Additionally, his sense of humor and cunning
wit provided a great sense of comic relief during the journey.
While life’s demands separated us for many
years, I became reacquainted with Chris after hearing that he had terminal
cancer. Despite his numbered days on
earth, he invited my wife and I on a memorable trip to
his beloved home in
Joseph P. Sergio, Ph.D.
President
The Sergio
Corporation
***
I knew Chris Anderson for about 23 years while I
was an undergraduate, graduate, and post graduate student at the University of Notre Dame. Chris was always teaching, always questioning and challenging -
especially the status quo. A
benign invitation to grab lunch at the burger place on campus always turned
into a deep discussion about behavioral analysis, politics, music, or the great
questions of life. Chris was never
content with things "as is".
He was very loyal to his discipline and never settled for anything
without data. In fact two of his
favorite phrases were, "Without data, you are just another shmuck with an opinion" and "Show me the
data." Regarding Chris as a
teacher, you either loved him or hated him, but you did learn in his
classes.
Chris presented many life changing opportunities
to me: the suggestion of graduate school, trips to new places for symposiums,
an internship in
Lisa M. Siroky, Ph. D.
Vice-president of Human Resources &
Operations
Plano
Molding Company
***
I first met Chris in the fall of 1972 as a
freshman at Notre Dame. He served as the
professor for the General Psychology course I was taking. His powerful teaching style, challenging
exams and true passion for the field, was the significant catalyst for me to
pursue psychology as a major.
Although my main contact with him during my
undergraduate studies occurred through my participation in his courses, our
relationship began to flourish when he (and
This project (in a local real estate company)
turned out to have value beyond measure for me.
In fact, it led to a significant publication, influenced my graduate
school pursuits, and in many ways directed my career path. Chris’s tutelage during this initial
consulting assignment profoundly influenced my perception of how to
professionally navigate the nuances of the business world.
His
influence prompted me to start, grow and eventually sell (for substantial
financial gain) a consulting and training company founded on the fundamental
behaviorally-based principles that he espoused.
Some 30 years after I initially heard Chris articulate optimal
approaches for enhancing human performance, my clients are still awe-struck and
intellectually curious about the powerful impact that applying these principles
have in their respective environments.
One of Chris’s most enviable attributes was
“staying true to cause”. He always put
his students at the forefront of his considerations. He would regularly forego significant
financial gain to instead use funds to place his students in settings that
would further relevant research and enhance the academic pursuits of those he
mentored. This was a theme that I
witnessed for over 20 years.
Things do come full circle in life. Although we had not been in contact for a few
years, I did have a conversation with Chris just two weeks before he passed
away. I had heard that the end was near,
so I did not expect him to answer the phone himself. Instead, he did answer and was lucid, witty,
reflective and compassionate. The most
striking part of our conversation was that, like always, he spent the majority
of our time asking me meaningful questions about my life.
As I hung up the phone, I reflected that Chris
was a man that positively influenced so many people throughout his life, and
even as the end approached, was still genuinely interested in the lives of
others. Chris, you will be missed, but
your influence will live on.
President
Performance
Potential, Inc.
***
Since I've known Chris....first while I was an
undergraduate 18 years ago, then as one of his graduate students, later as a
mentor, always as a friend....he has taught me many lessons ... how to think,
to question, to explore, to stick to one's principles...but perhaps none of
these have been as poignant as the lessons Chris taught me during his last
months...the meaning of courage and dignity, the importance of focusing on
those things that really matter in life, and the comfort and peace that comes
with loving those whom are closest to you.
I will always fondly remember our contests on the basketball court and
the golf course, site of some of our best conversations, many of which have
played a great influence in both my professional and personal life; I developed
a love of the Blues through Chris. It is
an understatement to say that Chris has expanded my horizons (it is no stroke
of luck that I find myself writing this in
Joe Torrez, MA
Sr. Consultant
Shell
Learning, Business Improvement
***
Chris and I arrived at Notre Dame together in
the fall of 1968. Whereas I was a
fledgling researcher, he had already distinguished himself through his
contributions to the empirical literature on animal learning and behavior. Chris quickly became a gentle critic of my
scholarship, a mentor and a friend. I
remember with fondness his quick wit, eloquence, passion for his discipline,
unflagging commitment to excellence, boundless energy and his creative and
often intentionally provocative applications of learning principles to human
behavior. He was a gadfly who awoke in
his students and colleagues a love of science along with an appreciation of its
potential for understanding and improving society.
Peace be with you
Chris.
Thomas L. Whitman, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology