Bernice Resnick Sandler (1928-2019)

Am Psychol. 2020 Jan;75(1):119-120. doi: 10.1037/amp0000527.

Abstract

Presents an obituary for Bernice Resnick Sandler (1928-2019). Bunny, as her family and friends called her, deployed the research skills she learned in her graduate education in psychology in service to her work as a public policy expert and advocate for gender equity in higher education. She is known as the Godmother of Title IX. She graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, and then earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1948 and a Master of Arts in clinical and school psychology from the City College of New York in 1950. After having lost several job opportunities in academia due to antinepotism rules or quotas for Jews, Bunny decided to apply to doctoral programs to enhance her credentials. She said that she "talked her way into" the psychology program at the University of Maryland, despite having been told that she was "too old" (in her early 30s) and that they had enough women students. She later switched to the school of education, where she earned her Doctor of Education degree in counseling and personnel psychology. Her experiences led her to feminism and to her life's work combatting sex discrimination in higher education. Although she never had the career in psychology that she wanted, her work made possible the careers of many women psychologists. She was a model of feminist activism and effective in organizing and energizing women faculty, staff, and students to play their parts in a larger social movement for gender equity and justice. Those who were fortunate enough to know Bunny will remember her for her generosity of spirit, her strength of character, her tenacity, her optimism, her practical advice and friendly guidance, and the excellence of her scholarly, as well as her political and policy, work. Her reports on sexual harassment and the chilly climate continue to be influential today. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).