Martin Rand, a member of the Department of Psychology for 35 years, died March 28 in Geneva, New York, at age 65. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer last winter and had planned to retire from teaching in May.

A native of Madison, Ohio, Rand earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Kent State University and a doctorate in child development and family relations at Cornell University. Before coming to IC in 1965, he was a psychologist at Summit County Receiving Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and later a senior clinical psychologist at Willard State Hospital in Willard, New York.

Rand joined IC as an assistant professor of psychology and as clinical psychologist and director of mental health services at the health center, where he worked until 1981. His interests included family therapy, abnormal psychology, and the relationship between birth order and personality.

Rand’s influence on his students went beyond the classroom. He and Joelle, his wife of 45 years, started an annual retreat at their home to give students a chance to relieve stress and heal from trauma. One Ithaca student who enjoyed the Rand retreat was the late NBC news anchor and correspondent Jessica Savitch ’68, who wrote in her autobiography, "The Rands were surrogate parents for an extended family of students. Their warmhearted hospitality drew people in."

Some years ago Rand began tracking psychology department alumni and compiling the information annually in a booklet. It includes information about each graduate and has been a help to the College as well as to alumni who want to locate IC friends. George Schuler, associate professor and chair of psychology, says that this year "our alumni can expect to hear from other faculty members doing this work. The information will be compiled on the Web; we’ll continue what Martin began." Faculty are also working to create a fitting memorial to their longtime colleague.