J. Steven Reznick

1951 - 2016

J. Steven Reznick

May 27, 1951 - July 5, 2016

Durham

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, NC in 1951, the son of Joseph and Jeanne Tavss Reznick. He attended R.J. Reynolds High School and UNC Chapel Hill before obtaining his MA from Wake Forest University and his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Steve is survived by his devoted wife Donna Kaye who gave him great joy throughout their short but loving marriage and who was by his side with extraordinary patience and support. Steve leaves behind his wonderful daughter Leah Tyner, who he was thrilled to walk down the aisle in marriage to Jon Tyner of Knightdale, NC. He is also survived by his father Joseph Reznick of Virginia Beach, VA, 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, AL as well as his many dear nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.

Steve entered the world of work at age 13 as a clerk in his parents' retail business, Reznick's Music and Jewelry, with strong attachment to the slogan: "It's been Reznicks for Records for Years." Music remained a passion throughout his life. Steve launched his academic career as Research Director of the Harvard Infant Study, working on studies of early temperament. He then spent 11 years as an Assistant and Associate Professor at Yale University with research and teaching focused on infant cognitive development. Steve returned to Chapel Hill in 1998 as a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UNC and spent almost two decades as an exemplary citizen of the Carolina academic community, for which he was awarded multiple honors including: The C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Order of the Golden Fleece and the J. Steven Reznick Award for Psychological Research that Enhances Diversity.

Steve's primary scientific contributions were in the domain of infant cognitive development. He also studied nutrition, autism spectrum disorder and other developmental challenges.  He was the author or co-author of seven books (one which will be published posthumously) and a key developer of two widely-used and impactful scientific assessment tools such as: The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, currently the most widely used child language assessment tool in the world; and The First Year Inventory, a parent-report instrument used to identify infants who are at risk for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Steve founded the Cognitive Development Society and he held governance positions in the International Society for Infant Studies and the Society for Research in Child Development. 

His reputation for creativity, fairness, sense of humor and boundless energy made Steve a valuable leader in the administrative posts he held such as Director of the Program in Developmental Psychology, Associate Dean for First Year Seminars and Academic Experiences and the Howard Hughes (MI) Science Seminar where he instituted many innovations to better serve students at Carolina.  

Never an "all work and no play" sort of person, Steve enjoyed warm and intimate relationships with his family and long-time friends. He took great joy in keeping in touch with many of his former students and colleagues and was known to send each of them an annual birthday email. His main definition of "play" was playing harmonica and tennis. His passion for tennis led to a decade long tenure as President of the UNC Faculty-Staff Recreation Association, commonly known as The Farm.

In order to honor Steve's lifelong commitment to education, research and Carolina, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, 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. Use the following link to donate: http://giving.unc.edu/gift/custom/index.htm?fndpic=104500&p=PSYC

Finally, in keeping with Steve's favorite mantra: "Go Heels!"