Biographical Sketch

July 1, 2004

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., D.H.C.

 Anthony J. Marsella received his B.A. degree with Honors in Psychology from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, in 1962, and M.A. in Physiological Psychology from Kent State University in 1964, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, in 1968. After completing an internship at Worcester State Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts, he was appointed as a Fulbright Research Scholar to Ateneo De Manila University in the Philippines where he taught and conducted research on social stress and psychopathology in urban Manila. In 1970, he joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawai`i, a position he held until 2003 when he retired.  Dr. Marsella is currently Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Past Director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu, and Past Director of the Clinical Studies Program. In the years before he retired, he organized and directed the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Program at the University of Hawaii.  Dr. Marsella is a consultant to numerous national and international agencies and organizations. Between late 1985-1989, he served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Hawaii. He has been a Visiting Professor in Australia (Melbourne University & Monash University), Korea (Korea University), India (King George Medical College), China (Shanghai Psychiatric Institute), and the Philippines (Ateneo de Manila University). In addition he has been a visiting professor at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland) and a Visiting Lecturer at numerous universities and research centers.

Dr. Marsella has published ten books and more than 140 book chapters, journal articles, and technical reports, and he has been awarded numerous research and training grants and contracts in the areas of cross-cultural psychopathology and psychotherapy, PTSD, social stress and coping, schizophrenia, and global challenges. He serves on numerous journal editorial boards and scientific and professional advisory committees. He was an Associate Editor for the Encyclopedia of Psychology (John Wiley & Sons) and was one of ten Senior Editors for the Encyclopedia of Psychology (Oxford University Press/American Psychological Association). He is currently senior book series editor for cultural and international psychology for Kluwer Academic and Plenum Press. Dr. Marsella is widely known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who has challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. His paper on "global-community psychology" published in the American Psychologist, December, 1998, calls for the development of a new psychology that is relevant and responsive to our changing global community. 

 Dr. Marsella has directed 96 doctoral dissertations and masters theses and is currently supervising the graduate degree work of five students. He received the College of Social Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence, and was selected by the American Psychological Association as a Master Lecturer Award for 1994 for his contributions in cross-cultural psychology and psychopathology. In 1994, he was selected as the Best Teacher in the "Best of Manoa Student Poll" at the University of Hawai`i. The Hawai`i Psychological Association selected Dr. Marsella for its Significant Professional Contribution Award for his scholarly and professional achievements in 1996. He is the first recipient of the Kathryn Grover Harrington Scholar Award from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, his alma mater. He received the Medal of Highest Honor from Soka University in Tokyo, Japan, for his contributions to the academy and to the promotion of international peace and understanding. In 1996, the American Psychological Association selected Dr. Marsella for the Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology Award. He has been listed in Who's Who in America since 1996. In November, 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree – Doctoris Honoris Causa by the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark at a ceremony presided over by the Queen, and in 2004, he will be awarded the International Psychologist of the Year Award by Division 52 of the American Psychological Association.  The Psychologists for Social Responsibility have sponsored the Anthony J. Marsella Prize for Peace and Social Justice in honor of his work. 

[Home] [Academy] [Newsletter] [Research] [Pubs] [Application] [Rules] [Downloads] [Awards] [Past Conferences] [Honolulu--2009] [Contact US] [F.A.Q.]