DURHAM/CHAPEL HiLL, N.C.—Dr. J. Steven Reznick passed away after living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for three years. He faced this adversity with grace, courage and generosity and worked diligently on ALS research and fundraising/advocacy endeavors.
He was born in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 1951, the son of Joseph and Jeanne Tavss Reznick.
He is survived by his devoted wife Donna Kaye, his wonderful daughter Leah Tyner and son-in law Jon Tyner of Knightdale, N.C., his father Joseph Reznick of Virginia Beach, his stepson Aaron Kaye of Washington D.C., sisters and brothers-in-law Celia and Larry Brown of White Plains, N.Y., and Barbara and Keith Bernstein of Birmingham, Ala., as well as his many dear nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.
Since 1998, he was a professor in the Department of Psychology at University of North Carolina and he spent almost two decades as an exemplary citizen of the Carolina academic community. His primary scientific contributions were in the domain of infant cognitive development. He was the author or co-author of seven books (one which will be published posthumously), founded the Cognitive Development Society and held governance positions in the international Society for infant Studies and the Society for Research in Child Development.
In order to honor Steve’s lifelong commitment to education, research and Carolina, the family requests that donations be made to the J. Steven Reznick Diversity and Psychological Research Fund. This Fund will encourage and honor undergraduate students who conduct exemplary research on topics of concern to diverse groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in psychological research.