Jean Lau Chin – in Memoriam

I’m so sorry to hear of Jean’s passing. She was a powerful leader, strong advocate, and kind, inclusive mentor.
In sympathy,
Dr. Renee Staton, James Madison University

Jean was already an active member of APA when I got involved with APA Governance two decades plus ago. I served with her on Council and was on the Board of Directors when she was maybe the first member of the Council Leadership Team to serve on the board. She was always positive and she was passionate about psychology and about diversifying psychology. Her passing is a loss to all of us and she will be missed.
Frank C. Worrell, Ph.D., UC Berkeley

My thoughts and prayers for the family of Jean and Gene…A sad day for a person whose life was dedicated to leadership of a truly international world of psychology.
Antonio E. Puente, Ph.D., 2017 President, APA; University of North Carolina Wilmington

Please send my deepest condolences, love, and light to Jean’s family. You are in my prayers.
Stefanía Ægisdóttir, Ph.D. HSPP, Ball State University

I felt so sad that a powerful voice from a minority psychologist was silienced by premature death.
Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych., President, International Network on Personal Meaning; Meaning-Centered Counselling Institute, Inc.

It is with great sadness that we heard about the passing the mentor and leader Dr. Jean Lau Chin. So sorry to hear this news. My sincere condolences to Dr. Jean Lau Chin’s family.
Elsaeed Dardara, Ph.D, Minia University, Egypt

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Dr. Jean Lau Chin. Although I have never met her in person, I was aware of her presence in our community and have deep respect for her as a person and as a professional. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family during this sad time.
Kristine Lin, St. John’s University

I join our division, our field, and Jean’s family, friends and all colleagues who mourn the loss of Jean, who contributed so much of her wisdom, intelligence, and warmth- as evident in her smile – to all of us.
Dr. Judy Kuriansky, New York

Jean’s voice will be with us and live on. She was a friend and colleague. I encouraged her to exercise her leadership Style for Div52. I have been her colleague through different organizations in our field. She was a friend that we shared wonderful memories. The most recent ICP in Cádiz Spain. Sincere condolences to her family. We are all better for knowing Jean. Please stay well and healthy. Peace,
Dr. Mercedes McCormick, New York

Dear Div 52 Colleagues, I am shocked and grieved to learn about the passing away of Jean Lau Chin. Jean was particularly supportive of my practice and research with immigrants in the U.S.A. and my work in global mental health service in traumatized settings. This encouragement came long before Div 52 was formed–when I was a junior faculty member in the counseling psychology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There were then few Asian women psychologists involved outside of White Middle Class U.S. psychology. I wrote in Jean’s books and campaigned for her election to the APA presidency, distributing her badge and flyer at APA conventions. It was Jean who encouraged me to become a Fellow of Div 52 because I have been a Div 52 member since its inception. Jean was most supportive of the APA Task Force for the 2017 APA Multicultural Guidelines. What a sudden, unbelievable loss for our profession. What a tragedy for her sons to lose both their parents to the COVID-19. What an indelible sorrow. May Jean and Gene rest in peace, and I have prayerful thoughts for her sons and family members.
Dr. Gargi Roysircar, Antioch University

This is indeed a sad day for Psychology. We have to part with a beloved colleague but must keep alive her important legacy.
Dr. Frances Boulon, Puerto Rico

I hope that APA in general, and Division 52 in particular, will produce more people like her.
Dr. Naji Abi-Hashem, USA

It is with a heavy heart and sadness that I attempt to digest the news that Jean has passed. I remember the ways she often spoke in a calm, soft and soothing tone, yet it somehow belied her immense well of energy, boldness, determination, ground-breaking and tireless work. She seemed to always be active and constructing plans for added contributions to psychology and the divisions and people she worked with or helped. Even when she was busy during conference or other times we might share, she always made time for a warm hello and catch up. She was ever encouraging of my work and mission. And she was great fun ! On a number of occasions at APA conferences we’d join others on the dance floor – freely wheeling around and moving with delight.
I loved her smile, and the way she laughed. After a fairly recent international conference, she’d arranged for some of us to attend a marvelous Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, NYC, and oh what a banquet she’d arranged ! All the while she was checking that people were enjoying the food. Conferences and events for me (and I’m sure for many others) will never feel quite the same – her absence leaves an immense vacuum. I would often see her husband Gene at social events, he always appeared to be a gentle warm wind beneath her wings, perhaps she was the same for him. And now she joins him. Oh how you’ll be missed dear Jean. And Gene. Thank you for all you contributed, and above all, thank you for YOU. I miss you.
I love you.
Dr. Debbie Joffe Ellis, Psychologist, Writer, Presenter

Thank you for being a group supervisor that shared valuable resources when I was a practicum trainee at South Cove Community Health Center. Over the years, I would have the opportunity to continue to learn by your example in APA leadership. I hope that you and Gene are peacefully reunited.
Aloha,
Michi Fu, Alliant International University

Shocking. A stunning loss for psychology, apa, and the world of hope and progressive thought.
A frightening reminder of the fragility and uncertainty of life for all life, even as we as humans, take pride and confidence in human achievements and accomplishments across time and place.
The emergence of life’s response to humanity’s actions and nature’s warnings of destructive intrusions, cannot continue to be denied without dire consequences.
As humanity continues to prize wealth, power, and position, and to concentrate access to equality, hope, and liberty to a few selfish humans, Jean’s loss reminds us to stop and to protest the assaults, or risk her tragic fate, and the fate of life’s survival.
In the ignorant and selfish hands and minds of zealots, our future is sealed. A universal outcry with relentless resistance and courage must emerge from the closing chances for life – all life – and must not accept the ignorance and power of flawed and failed corrupt leadership without grasping we are destined for death and destruction.
Covid-19 did not alone take Jean’s life. We all did, even as we take our own. In sorrow and struggle,
Anthony Marsella, University of Hawaii Emeritus

How sad to hear about Dr. Jean Lau Chin’s passing! I extend heartfelt condolences to her family. I know that the family has experienced the losses of both Dr. Chin and her husband. I am deeply sad for your losses.
Chalmer E. F. Thompson, Ph.D., Indiana University-Purdue University

I am saddened to learn of Jean’s passing and was hopeful that she had turned the tide. My thoughts are with her family — so difficult with so many losses in such a short time.
I had the opportunity to work closely with her during my term on CIRP and so appreciated her wisdom and leadership. She was a trailblazer, a passionate leader, and an advocate. She will be missed in so many ways and in so many spaces.
best,
Arpana G. Inman, Ph.D. Lehigh University

This is so incredibly sad. I was just saying to a colleague this morning that she is still fighting the disease and we were wishing her continued strength. She was a wonderful person and a true example of a dedicated and caring psychologist. I have known Jean for many years and she was so generous with her time and multiple collaborations and currently serving as a member of the Steering Committee of the Refugee Mental Health Resource Network, a project that she cosponsored on behalf of Division 52, when she was president. When she emailed me that she was in the hospital with COVID-19, I only imagined her beating the disease. We will all miss her very much. My deepest condolences to her family with the loss of both Jean and her husband.
Elizabeth Carll, PhD, Long Island, New York

Jean was the Dean of Students at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University, while I was a graduate student. As an Asian American, I often felt out of place and had some difficulties believing that I could complete my studies, but Jean was always supportive and encouraging. Later, when she transitioned to being a teaching professor, I asked her to be my dissertation advisor and she was instrumental in helping me to complete it. I can truly say that I would not be a practicing clinical psychologist if it was not for her help and support. I will always be incredibly grateful for her presence in my life.
Jung Rok Shin, Ph.D., New York

Every time I see Jean’s picture I just well up and my heart is heavy. I didn’t really know Jean but in the spirit of internationalism I knew her. Since this sentiment of unity and diversity around the world abides, her love and spirit will surely continue through those committed souls who want to further the cause of International Psychology. My thoughts are with her and her husband’s family and with all of us who choose to do this work.
Diane M. Gartland Psy. D., Licensed Psychologist, Michigan, Guam

With the passing of Dr. Jean Lau Chin, we not only lost a prolific and prescient scholar, but a visionary leader and deeply thoughtful human being. Dr. Chin both anticipated, and helped usher in, our present and essential focus on the need for women and minorities to occupy positions of influence, locally, nationally, and globally. Likewise, her research illuminated the underlying ideologies and epistemologies of leadership, arguing effectively that we need to cultivate more culturally-informed and collaborative-minded leaders, a values-based commitment that she herself embodied. Most important, Jean was a good and kind colleague who always sought honorable reconciliation when moderating disputes between people and perspectives, which she fearlessly and frequently did. Her ready sense of humor, appreciation for the absurd, and belief in the power of partnerships distinguished Jean in her life and work. She will be deeply missed, but her inspiration lives on through the endeavors of so many who were fortunate to call her a friend.
Craig N. Shealy, Ph.D., Past President, Division of International Psychology