Harry Kay | |
---|---|
Born | 1919 |
Died | 2005 (aged 85–86) |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Psychology |
Institutions | University of Sheffield |
Harry Kay CBE, DSc (1919–2005) was a psychologist and academic administrator.
Kay attended Rotherham Grammar School and then in 1938 went to the University of Cambridge to read for a degree English. However, World War II intervened and he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1946 he returned to Cambridge to complete a degree in Moral Sciences. He remained at Cambridge in the Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of Ageing.
He moved to the University of Oxford in 1951 as a lecturer in experimental psychology. He continued his research and was awarded a PhD. In 1960, he was appointed Chair of Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It was here that he established the Social and Applied Psychology Research Unit. [1]
In 1973, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter. He remained there until his retirement in 1984. [2]
He was active in the British Psychological Society becoming its president in 1971. In his presidential address, he promoted 'giving psychology away'. [3]
His early research interest was experimental work on motor skills [4] and then moved into the more general area of occupational psychology.