Please remember in your prayers Norman L. James, PhD, who passed away on April 22, 2022. James was 83 years old.
A viewing and service will be held starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, to celebrate the life of James, who was University of St. Thomas dean of the School of Education, Professional Psychology and Social Work from 1991-94 and professor of professional psychology from 1994-04. The service will he held at the Cremation Society (and Chapel) of Minnesota at 4343 Nicollet Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
James was a native of the African American community in St. Louis. He went to Collegeville, Minnesota, with a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling administration as well as with advanced training in the therapeutic techniques of transactional analysis, both from the University of Illinois at Carbondale. He joined the Psychology Department at Saint John’s University (not yet joint with the College of Saint Benedict) in 1972 at the rank of assistant professor and with a mandate from Saint John’s to make the campus community more welcoming to students of color. For a decade, James advanced his career along three paths – as a teacher of psychology, as the coordinator of minority affairs (later as equal employment opportunity officer) in the Saint John’s administrative line, and as a private practitioner of counseling and forensic psychology.
Then with completion of his doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on statistical patterns among indicators of alienation and criminal personality traits in three prison populations, his attention turned outwards. For example, he was elected president of the International Transactional Analysis Association (1982-84). He was appointed by the governor of Minnesota to the Minnesota Board of Psychology for a total of 16 years, chaired the board from 1985-87, and served as Minnesota delegate to the American Association of State Psychology Boards (in 1980, ’82, ’83 and ’92).
Those who might wish to make a donation in his name should please consider Collabria Care Hospice Services in Napa, California, (707) 258-9080; Brighton Hospice Services in Golden Valley, Minnesota, (952) 856-2219; and/or Sunrise of Golden Valley, Minnesota, (763) 522-4000.
