Delos D. Wickens, 1931
Fort Collins, Colorado
Deceased

Following his graduation from Centre in 1931, Delos D. Wickens had a long and distinguished career as a scholar and teacher in the field of psychology. A native of Rochester, New York, Dr. Wickens majored in economics and English at Centre.

From Centre, he went to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he received a master’s degree in English and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of North Carolina.

Completing his studies, Dr. Wickens taught first at Ohio State University, then at the University of Colorado, Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin.

From 1943 to 1945, Wickens served as the senior analyst in research on the naval gunnery for the Office of Scientific Research and Development of the National Defense Research Committee.  In 1946, Dr. Wickens returned to Ohio State University where he taught until his retirement in 1980.  Following his retirement, he served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Colorado State University.

An eminent scholar, Dr. Wickens received the Howard Crosby Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists in 1973, and the University of North Carolina Psychology Department Distinguished Alumni Award in 1979.  Also in 1979, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Psychological Foundation and the Distinguished Research Award from Ohio State University.

In 1983, he was named an honorary member of Centre College’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter.  Dr. Wickens was the author of two textbooks and authored over 100 articles on experimental psychology.  He contributed the section on “Classical Conditioning” to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, and was associate editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology from 1966 to 1973.  He also served as president of Division I of the American Psychological Association and on numerous national, scientific panels including those under the auspices of the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Delos D. Wickens passed away on April 9, 1988.