[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF DONALD N. BERSOFF, PHD., JD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 25, 2001

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a truly remarkable 
man, one who genuinely exemplifies what it means to be a teacher, 
mentor, and scholar.
  Donald N. Bersoff, who is both a psychologist and lawyer, will be 
retiring this month from academic life and from his position as 
Director of the dual degree program in Law & Psychology co-sponsored by 
Drexel University and Villanova University School of Law, both of which 
are in the great State of Pennsylvania.
  The son of first-generation Americans, Donald N. Bersoff was born in 
the Greenwich Village section of New York City in 1939. He received his 
Bachelor's degree, Master's degree and his Ph.D. in School Psychology 
from New York University. After serving as a therapist at a psychiatric 
facility in Staten Island, New York, he served his country as a staff 
psychologist in the United States Air Force stationed in southeast Asia 
during the Vietnam War. When he returned to civilian life, after 
teaching at several different Universities, he attended prestigious 
Yale Law School, graduating in 1976. After law school, where he was on 
the editorial board of the Yale Law Review, Dr. Bersoff, returned to 
academics, founding the dual degree program in Law & Psychology jointly 
administered by the University of Maryland School of Law and the 
Department of Psychology of The Johns Hopkins University.
  When Dr. Bersoff returned to private, practice, he became the first 
general counsel of the American Psychological Association. Later, 
Bersoff continued his representation of that organization as a partner 
in the firm of Ennis Friedman & Bersoff, and later as a partner in the 
firm of Jenner & Block in Washington, DC. Dr. Bersoff eventually 
returned to the world of academics when he agreed to assume the 
directorship of the dual degree program in Law & Psychology 
administered by Drexel University and the Villanova University School 
of Law, where he has served as a tenured professor on both faculties 
for the past 11 years.
  A pioneer in the field of Law & Psychology, Dr. Bersoff has taught 
undergraduate, graduate and law students as well as practicing 
psychologists and attorneys for over 35 years. In his distinguished 
teaching career, he has taught courses in Ethics and Professional 
Responsibility, Mental health Law, Criminal Law, Forensic Psychology, 
Legal and Civil Rights of the Mentally Ill, and advanced seminars in 
Social Science Applications to Law. He has also been active in the 
clinical arena, supervising school psychology interns as well as 
supervising attorneys in practice clinics. Dr. Bersoff is a diplomate 
of the American Board of Professional Psychology and is also admitted 
to practice law in Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, and 
before the United States Supreme Court. In fact, in his years of legal 
practice, has written 25 amicus briefs to the Supreme Court.
  Dr. Bersoff was an invited participant in the 1994 American 
Psychological Association Assembly for the 21st Century, and has been 
listed in Who's Who in America for 15 years. He is the recipient of 
scores of teaching awards, and is a Fellow of all the major 
organizations in both law & psychology. His publications number in the 
hundreds, including the leading text book for the teaching of Ethics to 
psychologists, and the leading treatise on mental health law for his 
home state of Pennsylvania.
  As a psychologist and attorney, Dr. Bersoff has devoted significant 
time and effort to facilitating interdisciplinary cooperation between 
these two great professions. Dr. Bersoff was the American Psychological 
Association's first general counsel, directed that organization's 
Ethics Committee for over a decade, and served on the Association's 
Board of Directors from 1994 to 1997. In fact, in December 2000, Dr. 
Bersoff was awarded a Presidential Citation by the American 
Psychological Association which aptly summed up his remarkable list of 
accomplishments by concluding, in part: ``Few others will reach the 
level of accomplishment that Donald N. Bersoff has attained both as a 
lawyer and a psychologist to promote, advance, and assist in shaping 
the future of the field of Psychology and the Law.''
  Based on the reports of his students, Donald N. Bersoff is a 
gentleman, a scholar and a wonderful teacher. He is a warm, funny and 
authentic individual who clearly cares about his students and 
colleagues. As a practitioner in both the fields of law and psychology, 
he has consistently demonstrated the general ethical and professional 
principles of competence, integrity, responsibility, respect for 
people's rights and dignity, concern for other's welfare, and social 
responsibility. He has enjoyed a rich, diverse and satisfying career 
spanning four decades.
  Most importantly, perhaps, Donald N. Bersoff's legacy is marked by 
the indelible impact he had on the hundreds of students for whom he has 
served as a mentor. Dr. Bersoff's former students have worked for this 
country's government, serving various Senators and Representatives. 
Many of his students have served as law clerks for state and federal 
judges. His former students serve with distinction in the Armed Forces, 
in hospitals and mental health clinics, and in prestigious law firms 
across the country. And the ``family tree,'' which starts with Donald 
Bersoff at its roots, extends into the world of academics, with Bersoff 
proteges teaching at great Colleges and Universities across the 
country.
  Please join me in applauding the 35 year career of a gifted and 
generous scholar and practitioner in the fields of Law & Psychology. 
Donald Bersoff has worked extremely hard to reach this momentous 
occasion. Again quoting from the Presidential Citation Dr. Bersoff 
received from the American Psychological Association: ``In so many 
areas of his life, he has challenged individuals to `try to make what 
is thinkable, doable.' His life serves as a testament to that 
challenge.''

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