Harold Takooshian, PhD, was born on November 21, 1949 in New York City, the eldest child of Dorothy (Hampartsumian) and Alfred Takooshian, a photo-engraver. He was raised in the Bronx, and graduated Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan at age 15 (1966) and City College of New York (1971). He completed his PhD in psychology at City University of New York (1979), mentored by Stanley Milgram.
At CCNY from 1966-1971, he was a varsity gymnast, and psychology honors student mentored by Barbara Snell Dohrenwend, who completed behavioral research on several social issues while still a student (dorm v commuter students, legalizing marijuana, vegetarianism, the faculty-student “generation gap” in values).
Takooshian began teaching as an adjunct instructor at Fordham University’s Manhattan campus in 1975, and gradually rose to Professor of Psychology, Urban Studies, and Organizational Leadership. Within the department, he was known as an active mentor of over 200 undergraduate research projects. In 1997, he launched FIRST (Fordham Institute for Teaching, Research, Service), to promote excellence in interdisciplinary behavioral research by students and faculty. Part of this was the annual “Greater New York Conference on Behavioral Research” for over 30 years (since 1989). Over the years, Takooshian taught at 12 universities in 6 nations, and served as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to the USSR (1987-88) and Russia (2013-14).
As a researcher, Takooshian was known for his publications across several specialty areas, applying psychological science to diverse social issues. In 1990, he was elected a Fellow of APA and several of its divisions—general, teaching, social issues, consulting, and international psychology.
Takooshian’s several leadership roles within psychology included the Presidency of the APA Divisions of International Psychology (2003), General Psychology (2007), officer/President of Psi Chi Honor Society (1993-2000). In New York in 1984, he is co-founder and Chair of the local group of the Society for Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI-NY), arranging local activities for over 40 years.
In his family, Takooshian had one daughter Lori–born in 1983–with his beloved wife Silva Barsumyan (1948-1993), a noted immigration attorney who passed away from cancer at age 45. In 2011, Takooshian married Anne W. Stout, a mother of three who also lost her husband Brian to cancer. For Takooshian’s 65th birthday, Lori edited an awesome 113-page “memory book,” in which 100+ students, colleagues and friends described how Harold’s life touched theirs.