Gordon, Thomas 1918-2002
GORDON, Thomas 1918-2002
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 11, 1918, in Paris, IL; died August 26, 2002, in Los Angeles, CA. Psychologist, educator, and author. Gordon was a leading clinical psychologist and founder of Gordon Training International who gained acclaim for his work in conflict resolution. Before serving in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, he earned his bachelor's degree from DePauw University in 1939 and his master's degree from Ohio State in 1941. After leaving the military as a captain, he studied at the University of Chicago, where he graduated with a Ph.D. in 1949. Gordon taught at the University of Chicago for five years before joining Edward Glaser & Associates in California as a consultant in 1954. It was there that he developed his theories about conflict resolution. Going into private practice as a psychologist in 1958, he began counseling others on conflict resolution, and in 1968 he founded the Solana Beach, California-based Effectiveness Training, Inc., which later became Gordon Training International. Gordon's ideas about conflict resolution are expressed in his best-selling book Parent Effectiveness Training: The No-Lose Way to Raise Responsible Children (1970). He later applied the same principles used in parent-child relationships to educators in T.E.T.: Teacher Effectiveness Training (1974), businessmen in Leader Effectiveness Training, L.E.T.: The No-Lose Way to Release the Productive Potential of People (1983), salesmen in Sales Effectiveness Training: The Breakthrough Method to Become Partners with Your Customers (1993; written with Carl D. Zaiss), and doctors in Making the Patient Your Partner: Communication Skills for Doctors and Other Caregivers (1995). For his groundbreaking work, Gordon was nominated in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he also received lifetime achievement awards from the American Psychological Foundation and the California Psychological Association.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
BOOKS
Writers Directory, 16th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2001.
PERIODICALS
Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2002, p. B18.
New York Times, September 6, 2002, p. A19.
Washington Post, September 2, 2002, p. B4.