Donald Freedheim

Psychology Professor Donald Freedheim, PhD, was determined to keep a beloved undergraduate course in good hands after he retired in 2000. So, during his last semester, Freedheim’s colleague, Sandra Russ, PhD, unofficially co-led the class, teaching students through seminars and hands-on hospital experiences how best to use psychological approaches to understand, help and interact with sick kids.

“It was unusual to be invited in and for somebody to be so invested,” said Russ, PhD, the Louis D. Beaumont University Professor Emerita. “He was modeling how you run this kind of course.” 

Freedheim, who died in May 2023, was a natural educator and leader, a committed psychologist and staunch advocate for children—and a person of many firsts.

He was the founding director of what’s now the Schubert Center for Child Studies at the College of Arts and Sciences, making research and collaborations with the community a central component. He was founding editor of The Clinical Psychologist journal and Professional Psychology.

Freedheim also was president of the Cleveland and Ohio psychological associations and on the board of the American Psychological Association. And, Russ said, he was “an excellent clinical psychologist.”

Taking the helm of the Schubert Center, Freedheim cultivated strong relationships with community and child agencies and walked campus halls, talking with faculty about how the center could facilitate and collaborate on research.

“A lot of the success of the Schubert Center was really due to his commitment,” said Jill Korbin, PhD, the Lucy Adams Leffingwell Professor Emeritus, who led the center after Freedheim.