George Ronan has passed away, succumbing to the glioblastoma with which he was diagnosed last year. His last days were spent with his wife, Donna Ronan (who many here may also know from her own work and ABCT involvement), and their sons George Jr and Patrick at his side.

George’s involved in ABCT was extensive, and the organization was important to him, as were the many close relationships he had with so many here.

George served AABT and ABCT in so many ways over the years. He was the longest-serving editor of tBT in the late 90s/early 2000s. He also served as secretary-treasurer, multiple times on the program committee, and as an author/editor on two volumes (Depression; and Anger, Aggression, and Violence) of the Practitioner’s Guide to Empirically Supported Measures series, and in 2011 he received the Outstanding Service to ABCT award. George also served on the interorganizational task force spearheaded by ABCT that led to the Guidelines for cognitive behavioral training within doctoral psychology programs in the United States: Report of the Inter-organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education, published in Behavior Therapy in 2012.

George’s impact has been enormous, especially at Central Michigan University. He almost single-handedly moved the clinical psychology program to a primarily cognitive-behaviroal PhD program from their previous clinical psychology program, a non-research-based, primarily psychoanalytically focused PsyD program of 25 years ago. As one of his colleague wrote, the CMU program is “almost entirely of George’s design, including fundamental principles, curriculum, and faculty recruitment. His quirky awesomeness will never be replicated.”

George was a dedicated and understanding mentor to numerous students over his decades at CMU and was regularly generous with his time and energy. He spent many years as the DCT, and as director of our training clinic, and he never hesitated to step up to help those taking over those positions, or when we needed someone to fill in. His violence-reduction program provided research and clinical training for many students over the years and needed services for many in the community, as did the private practice he began in the historic building he renovated nearby. George also contributed in numerous ways to CMU beyond the program, including many crucial leadership and service positions, and to the community, including most recently as an elected official on the city commission.

George had been moving toward retirement when he became ill, and he left us much too soon. He will be greatly missed by all of us who had the good fortune to know him.