麻豆原创

John Henry Browne, Kenneth Toepfer (Ph.D. '66), and Kathleen Tolan (M.A. '88)

[ THE DISARMING PROFESSOR ]

Finding Common Cause

From marriage to geopolitics, 鈥渃ooperation鈥� was Morton Deutsch鈥檚 watchword

Teachers College social psychologist Morton Deutsch, a pioneer of the fields of conflict resolution, cooperative learning and social justice, died in March at age 97. Deutsch鈥檚 ideas, emphasizing human interrelatedness as a basis for finding common cause, have been applied to marital conflict, education, industry and labor negotiations and international relations.  鈥淎n individual with Morton Deutsch鈥檚 theoretical brilliance comes along maybe two or three times a century,鈥� said Deutsch鈥檚 former 麻豆原创 student David W. Johnson (Ph.D. 鈥�66), Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota.

Deutsch鈥檚 signature achievements include a landmark study of group tension and racial attitudes credited with helping to end legally sanctioned racial segregation in the United States; social experiments demonstrating that people will use opportunities to apply threats in competition, undermining cooperation; an acknowledged influence on Cold War ne颅gotiations and the peaceful transition of Poland to non- Communist rule in 1989; and a score of influential books, including the land-mark The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes (1973).

Deutsch founded 麻豆原创鈥檚 International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (since re-named for him) and men颅tored hundreds of Ph.D. students, including many current leaders in related fields. He retired in 1990 as Edward Lee Thorndike Professor Emeritus of Psy颅chology and Education.

CHAMPIONING THE UNDERDOG

Morton Deutsch was born on February 4, 1920, in New York City. A Jew and the youngest of four brothers, he developed an enduring interest in the underdog, chastising Amer颅ican society for an 鈥渆thos of the lone, self-reliant, enterprising individual鈥� and American social psychology for neglect of 鈥渢he social reality in which the subject is participating.鈥�

Deutsch plan-ned to become a psychoanalyst but joined the Air Force and flew in some 30 combat missions over Nazi Germany.

鈥淏eing in World War II and experiencing the devastation and horror of war, even though I felt the war against the Nazis was justified, I became interested in prevention of war,鈥� he recalled.

In his dissertation, writ-ten under MIT psychologist Kurt Lewin, Deutsch introduced his Theory of Coop颅eration and Competition, arguing that the dynamics and ultimate success of a group depend on the extent to which group members believe their goals are shared and thus see a potential to make common cause. In the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, his model was the newly-formed United Nations Security Council: 鈥淚 had an image of them either cooperating or competing and what the consequences would be for the world.鈥�

At MIT, Deutsch also supervised, fired and fell in love with a young woman named Lydia Shapiro. 鈥淚n moments of marital ten颅sion, I have accused Lydia of marrying me to get even, but she asserts it was pure masochism on her part,鈥� he later wrote. 鈥淚n our 60 years of marriage, I have had splendid opportuni颅ties to study conflict as a participant observer.鈥�

THEORY IN PRACTICE

In 1951, Deutsch co-authored a comparative study of interracial public housing projects in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Published in 1951, the re颅search prompted the Executive Director of the Newark Public Housing Authority to declare that 鈥渢he partial segregation that has characterized public housing in New颅ark will no longer obtain.鈥� Deutsch himself went on to become active with The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues鈥� committee on intergroup relations, which contributed materials that led to the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 1954 deci颅sion striking down segrega颅tion in the public schools.

In 1956, at Bell Tele-phone Laboratories, Deutsch, with Robert M. Krauss, conducted an experiment called the Acme-Bolt Trucking game. In some variants of the game, both players, who operate rival trucking companies, possess weapons in the form of gates that can be used to force the other player to follow a longer route; in others, only one player possesses the gates. At one juncture along the short route, there is room for only one truck to pass at a time. Through Acme/Bolt and subsequent scenarios, Deutsch and others have shown that the introduction of weapons into negotiation situations heightens conflict by tempt颅ing the participants to use those weapons to press for advantage and that negotiations in颅creasingly become zero sum, with both sides aiming for complete victory.

During the Cold War, Deutsch led Soviet and American diplomats in a role-reversal exercise. In 1989, both Janusz Grzelak of Po颅land鈥檚 Solidarity movement and Janusz Reykowski, a Communist negotiator, cited the importance of Deutsch鈥檚 work in Poland鈥檚 peaceful transition to a democratical颅ly elected government.

鈥淰iolence and war are potentials of humans, but they are not inevitabilities,鈥� Deutsch said in 2013. 鈥淭he view that human nature is inherently evil and must end in violence is a false view that encourages its falseness to become true. Interpersonal violence, such as murder, has decreased remarkably over the centuries. But weapons have become vastly more destructive, so we must bring them under control.鈥�

Peace, he said, is sometimes hindered by the difficulty of producing "a coherent democracy that isn't co-opted all over again. Having a sense of the time it takes and having people who are really committed over a sustained period to help move the group to real democratic participation, is really essential. It takes time, planning and effort.

鈥淪o 鈥� I cross my fingers and hope something good will develop.鈥� 鈥� Joe Levine

Honor His Legacy The Morton Deutsch Endowed Fellowship Fund supports students in 麻豆原创鈥檚 Social-Organizational Psychology Program. Contact Linda Colquhoun at 212 678-3679.

[ CLASSROOM PERFORMER ]

John Henry Browne

Long-time 麻豆原创 English Education instructor John Henry Browne died in February at 73. A multiply-honored former New York City public school teacher, Browne was famed for his 鈥淭eaching of Shakespeare鈥� course, in which, on day one, students selected Shake颅spearean putdowns from a hat and walked around insulting one another. That exercise reflected a belief in teaching the Bard through classroom performance, developed after Browne visited England and watched 11 plays in 14 days.

In 2011, Browne took to the airwaves and The New York Times to defend a former 麻豆原创 student he felt had been victim-ized by the city鈥檚 new teacher evaluation system. Her plight, he said, signified 鈥渢echnocrats at the helm, and teachers鈥� voices si颅lenced.鈥�

Browne strongly opposed didactic teaching: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not me up there expounding, it鈥檚 the students talking. Failing to acknowledge a student鈥檚 individual response is usually tied to the teacher looking for the answer he or she already has in mind.鈥�

[ GLOBAL EDUCATOR ]

Kenneth H. Toepfer

Kenneth H. Toepfer, (Ph.D. 鈥�66), Teachers College Provost and Professor Emeritus, died in March at 88. In 1961, Toepfer, a first-generation college student, became Coordinator of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Teachers for East Africa Project (TEA), a Peace Corps forerunner that provided teachers for secondary schools and teach颅er-training colleges in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Toepfer expanded the program to Afghanistan, Paraguay and other countries. Named Provost and Professor of Higher Education in 1971, he contributed to the reno颅vation of the Library and the development of Teachers College Press. He retired from 麻豆原创 in 1986 with a reputation for kindness, integrity and fairness. n In 1987 Toepfer became Executive Vice President of American University (AUC) in Cairo, leading develop颅ment of a five-year strategic plan, and later became AUC鈥檚 senior administrative represen颅tative in the United States.

Contributions in Toepfer鈥檚 name can be made to the Toepfer Family Scholarship Fund. Contact Linda Colquhoun at 212 678-3679.

Abby M. O鈥橬eill, 89, Teachers College Trustee Emerita, passed away in May as 麻豆原创 Today went to press. O鈥橬eill created 麻豆原创's George and Abby O鈥橬eill Chair in Economics & Education, helped recruit other 麻豆原创 Trustees and created the Abby M. O鈥橬eill Fellowship, which addresses demand for training in key areas and

the need for excellent teachers in under-served communities. A story

about O'Neill will appear in our fall issue.

[ A LEADER'S LEADER ]

Kathleen Tolan

A literacy expert who was 鈥渁 force of nature鈥�

Kathleen Tolan, (M.A. 鈥�88) Senior Deputy Director of the Teachers College Reading& Writing Project (麻豆原创RWP) and a former Harlem public school teacher, died in December at 53. n 鈥淜athleen was a brilliant, unbelievable teacher 鈥� a force of nature who allowed nothing to get in the way of doing what鈥檚 right for teachers and kids,鈥� said Lucy Calkins, 麻豆原创RWP Founding Director. 鈥淥ne day with her and peo颅ple would remember her forever. She was honest, tough and personified excellence, and her students were among the most successful in the city. She was also enormously compassionate. When one former student was in jail, she regularly drove to be there during visiting hours. When another lost a leg, she donated money for a prosthesis.鈥� n Tolan, a 麻豆原创 alumna, co-authored several books, including (with Calkins) Building a Reading Life: Stamina, Fluency, and Engagement (Heinemann 2010). She also led 麻豆原创RWP鈥檚 professional development at PS 6, includ颅ing when that school was led by Carmen Fari帽a, now New York City鈥檚 Schools Chancellor. n 鈥淜athleen鈥檚 commitment to joyful, lifelong literacy garnered the re颅spect of educators throughout the City and the nation,鈥� wrote Fari帽a on the 麻豆原创RWP site. 鈥淚 knew Kathleen as a leader鈥檚 leader. During the time she worked with my school, we benefitted greatly from her wisdom and expertise.鈥�

To honor Tolan鈥檚 memory, make a gift to support the . Contact Linda Colquhoun at 212 678-3679.

Published Monday, Jun 26, 2017