A celebration of the career of John R. Graham - A distinguished scholar and mentor

Abstract

In this talk, we honor the contributions to personality assessment made by Dr. John R. (Jack) Graham (1940 – 2022). Dr. Graham’s empirical work focused primarily on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) family of instruments. He was a member of the team responsible for the first revision of the test, which led to the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-A. Dr. Graham was the author of a book about the MMPI family of instruments, now in its 6th edition, that has been used to train generations of assessment psychologists. As a professor at Kent State University, Dr. Graham regularly taught courses on personality assessment and he mentored over 40 doctoral students. His teaching extended outside of the classroom, as Dr. Graham also regularly conducted professional workshops on the MMPI instruments and personality assessment. Dr. Graham was a fellow of the Society for Personality Assessment and was awarded the Bruno Klopfer award for his achievements in 2015. While Dr. Graham had many significant achievements in his career, he considered his most significant contributions to the field to be the psychologists he helped train and whose careers he helped launch. To commemorate Dr. Graham’s legacy of mentorship, it is our pleasure to announce a new Society for Personality Assessment Award, the John R. Graham Award for Distinguished Mentorship in Personality Assessment.

Speakers

Tayla Lee | Ball State University

Carlo Veltri | St. Olaf College

Martin Sellbom | University of Otago

Goals & Objectives

1. Identify contributions to personality assessment made by John R. Graham.
2. Discuss how John R. Graham helped shape use of the MMPI instruments.
3. Understand the importance of mentorship in the careers of students and junior colleagues