Donald K. Routh (1937-2021)

Memorializes Donald K. Routh (1927-2021). He received a BA in English from the University of Oklahoma (1962), followed by a MS (1965) and PhD (1967) in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his clinical internship at the Oklahoma Health Science Center (1967). Routh was board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (1975). Pursuing an academic career, he rose through the ranks at the University of Iowa (1967-1970, 1977-1985), Bowling Green University (1970-1971), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1971-1977), and the University of Miami (1985-2002) where he served as Director of the clinical psychology program. He was a Fellow of APA and the Association for Psychological Science. Throughout his career, Don emphasized historical foundations of psychology as a scientific discipline and profession. He also affirmed the importance of advocacy for children, families, and those with developmental disabilities and chronic conditions. Two of his books were particularly important contributions: his edited Handbook of Pediatric Psychology (1988) covered a field where he was a pioneer, and Clinical Psychology since 1917 (1994) demonstrated his prowess as historian. He was elected President of the Society of Pediatric Psychology (now Division 54), the Section on Clinical Child Psychology (now Division 53), Division 37, Division 12, and Division 33. He chaired the Behavioral Medicine Study Section of the National Institutes of Health (1983-1985) and performed a multitude of American Psychological Association accreditation site visits. In 1998 he founded the International Society of Clinical Psychology. He was a Fellow of APA and the Association for Psychological Science. In recognition of his career contributions, he received Presidential Awards from Division 54 (1981), the Academy on Mental Retardation (2001), and the American Association on Mental Retardation (2002) as well as an APA Presidential Citation (2002), the Nicholas Hobbs Award from Division 37 (1996), and the Edgar A. Doll Award from Division 33 (2001). Postretirement, as further evidence of his scholarly curiosity, Don earned BA (2008) and MA (2011) degrees in History from the Florida Gulf Coast University. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).