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IN MEMORIAM
DONALD JOHN VELDMAN
Donald John Veldman died on August 4, 2002. With
his passing, the Department of Educational Psychology, the College
of Education, and The University of Texas community lost an esteemed
colleague, an innovative scholar, a productive researcher, and
a loyal friend.
Don Veldman, son of Pearl Paalman Veldman and Harold Eugene Veldman, M.D.,
was born on December 24, 1931, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended the
Grand Rapids public schools and graduated in 1949. He then enrolled in
Hope College, Holland, Michigan, where he earned the A.B. degree in English
in 1953.
While they were students at Hope College, Don met and became engaged to
Janet Lou Soeter of New Brunswick, New Jersey. After graduation, Don was
drafted into the U.S. Army in the fall of 1953. He served a 20-month tour
of duty, which included journalism work in Inchon, Korea. Upon his return
to the U.S. he married Janet on December 17, 1955, with whom he joyously
shared the remainder of his life. They had four children: two daughters,
Audrey and Catherine, and two sons, Gregory and Stuart.
In August of 1954, Don and Janet moved to Austin, Texas, where Don entered
the clinical psychology program of the UT Austin Department of Psychology.
He received the Ph.D. degree in 1960, at which time he was offered a faculty
position in the UT Department of Educational Psychology as assistant professor.
Don enjoyed a distinguished career at Texas, advancing in academic rank
to associate professor in 1964 and professor in 1969.
Most of the courses that Don taught over the years were in the areas of
statistics and research methodology. He taught numerous sections of two
undergraduate courses: Introduction to Statistics, and Tests and Measurements.
At the graduate level, he regularly taught Computer Methods in Research,
and Fortran Programming. In his later years on the faculty, he taught the
graduate course, Correlation and Regression, and developed and taught a
new course, Meta-Analysis Methods. In addition, Don served as the chair
or member of numerous doctoral dissertation committees. He spent countless
hours mentoring and working with graduate students on research projects,
especially in providing advice and consultation related to data analysis
procedures.
Don also served in an administrative capacity for a number of research
projects over the years. From 1962-67 he was the co-director of the Computer
Analysis of Personality Project. From 1973-77 he was the director of the
Project PRIME Data Analysis Unit. Also, he began a long association with
the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education in 1965, first
serving as coordinator of the assessment division and later as research
scientist.
Don was among the first social scientists to envision the potential of
the computer as a tool for conducting research, and he pioneered the development
of statistical software packages that researchers now take for granted.
Early on he became involved in writing and publishing software and related
manuals to facilitate the application of statistical methodology to the
analysis of educational and psychological data. His VSTAT and PRIME packages
were used extensively for data analysis by many UT faculty and students
and thereby made a significant contribution to their research productivity.
As computer hardware evolved over several decades, Don continually adapted
his software packages from mainframe capability (PRIME) to microcomputer
compatibility (Pandora).
During his academic career Don’s publications numbered more than
100, including journal articles, book chapters, manuals, and research reports.
In 1984 he was recognized in an article published in the Educational
Researcher for his exceptional productivity and for the number of
academic citations of his work. Additionally, he was the author or co-author
of three books, most notably Introductory Statistics for the Behavioral
Sciences, co-authored with Robert K. Young of the UT Department of
Psychology. The fourth edition of that book was published in 1981. The
book was quite innovative in that it utilized a system of “programmed
instruction” to provide students the opportunity for drill and practice
and to evaluate their understanding of the statistical concepts being covered.
In recognition of his contributions to psychology, education, and research,
Don was elected to Fellow status in Divisions 5 and 15 of the American
Psychological Association. Also, he was a long-standing member of the American
Educational Research Association and the National Council on Measurement
in Education.
Don Veldman was a visionary and a pioneer in the use of computers and statistical
software for the analysis of data in social science research. His contributions
paved the way for generations of researchers who now routinely employ statistical
computer packages for analysis of their data.
Don had a keen intellect and was an acknowledged authority in matters of
applied statistics. In temperament Don was mild mannered and soft spoken,
but he possessed a very dry sense of humor. Many an argument or discussion
was settled and put into proper perspective due to an insightful quip or
witticism from Don Veldman. We mourn his loss.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting
of Professors William R. Koch (chair), Hugh B. Poyner, and Frank W. Wicker.
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