Joan Carol Bombace Ph.D.

BOMBACE, JOAN C., PhD. Joan Carol Bombace, Ph.D, of Hamden, CT passed away with her family by her side on September 3, 2013, after a long illness. She was the daughter of Jennie (Corraro) Bombace and the late Frank Bombace, Sr. A professor of psychology at Quinnipiac University, Joan held numerous leadership positions over the course of her distinguished career, including Chair of the Psychology Department and Director of the Behavioral Neuroscience Program at Quinnipiac, President of the New England Psychological Association, Eastern Regional Consultant to Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, as well as a Mellon Faculty Fellowship at Yale University. In addition to her mentorship of scores of research projects with psychology and biology undergraduates at Quinnipiac, Joan was the founder and leader of the highly successful Quinnipiac University Interdisciplinary Program for Research and Scholarship, which provides talented students with a summer stipend to further their research agendas. Joan's own research interests included Pavlovian learning in animals and humans, the behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs, and the motivational bases of learning, resulting in innumerable research presentations and publications in major professional venues. Joan received her BA from Quinnipiac University, her MA from Southern Connecticut State University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Joan traveled at every opportunity, taking trips throughout Europe and to Hawaii, California, Costa Rica, Russia, Egypt, China, and the Galapagos Islands, along with several cruises. She is survived by her sisters, Linda (Tom) McNeff and Marianne (Louis) Apuzzo of New Haven, Gail (Ken) Villani of Wallingford, and brother, Frank (Janet) Bombace, Jr. of North Branford; nieces and nephews, Dan (Loani) and Tom (Jeanne) McNeff, Nick and Kyle (Andriana Carrano) Bombace, Chris and Jeff Villani, Louis Jr., Kelly, and Allison Apuzzo; and great nieces and nephews, Thomas, Cara, Caitlin, and Ryan McNeff and Krystyana Rose. There will be no calling hours. Family and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial Saturday morning at 10 at St. Joseph's Church, 129 Edwards Street, New Haven. Burial will follow at St. Lawrence Cemetery, West Haven. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Gift Support to Scholarship for Psychology Student, Quinnipiac University AH-DUP, 275 Mount Carmel Road, Hamden, CT 06518. Sign Joan's guest book online at www.iovanne.com. The IOVANNE FUNERAL HOME, INC. is in care of Joan's arrangements.