Bert Kaplan

Bert ALWAYS took time to talk with his many...many of his students. He was Loving...Kind...Compassionate and Joyful. I used to see him either before or after his fencing classes. What positive energy. What a tremendous Life.

Listening today to an Alumni talk about the founding and evolution of U C Santa Cruz and heard Bert’s name mentioned. I remember being very fond of Bert and his Psychology of Physical Fitness class. Through journaling I learned to value more clearly my own experience in the world and see academics as just one tool in that effort to understand the world inside of myself and outside.
Blessings to Bert and Family

Bert Kaplan was my very first professor at U.C. Santa Cruz. A kind and gentle soul to be sure. What a great way to start my college career.

Just last Wednesday, July 19th, I went for a hike with a friend through the fields and woods near the UCSC campus. As we were hiking, I told my friend about taking the Psychology of Physical Fitness with Bert Kaplan in the spring of 1986. Once a week Bert would lead us on a hike through the open land adjacent to campus. It was a two-hour class and near the end of each session Bert would stop winding his way through the various trails, turn to the class and say “I’ll see you in class next...

A remembrance and appreciation from G. William Domhoff, who came to UC Santa Cruz in 1965 thanks to Bert: Bert changed the direction of my life and encouraged me to develop my own ideas when he hired me to come to Santa Cruz with him in 1965. He was an independent spirit who encouraged diversity within the psychology group. Whereas most psychologists were skeptical of someone who studied dreams, my interest in that topic was a key reason why he hired me. He was wonderful with students as...