It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the recent passing of Emeritus Professor Norman Feather, who was Flinders University’s Foundation Professor in Psychology.
Professor Feather, who passed away peacefully on 28 October after a short illness, was 93 years old, and began his professional career in 1952 at the University of New England as a Lecturer, then an Associate Professor. He took leave in 1958 to complete a PhD at the University of Michigan as a Fulbright scholar, returned to the University of New England in 1960, and was then appointed the Foundation Chair in Psychology at Flinders University in 1967.
His research output was prolific in the social sciences with six books, more than 25 chapters, and approaching 200 journal articles – placing him among the most productive academic psychologists in Australia in the 1970s and ’80s. The sheer volume of his publications and citations boosted Flinders Psychology at the time onto the list of world-ranked Psychology departments.
Professor Feather retired in 2000 but continued to be active, still publishing in the year before his death. His final publication – Attitudes towards favoring the fall of Tall Poppies: The role of Social Dominance Orientation, Authoritarianism, Political Ideologies, and Self- Esteem – was published in The Journal of Social Psychology in February 2022.
As Professor Feather explained at the time: “I have a very curious mind and I have always been very interested in people, what their attitudes are and how they behave. Social psychology and the psychology of motivation were the two areas that I took a particular interest in. I think it’s important to observe what’s going on around you and to think about that. It’s important to be curious … to worry at it like a dog worries a bone, until you have the answer that satisfies you.”
Professor Feather was awarded an AM in 2016 for his significant service to higher education. He also won the International Society for Justice Research Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, and recognised with Fellowship of the Australian Psychological Society, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (international), the Society for Experimental Social Psychology (international) and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (international). He was President of the Australian Psychological Society 1978-1979 and in 1998 received the Australian Psychological Society’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution award.
Professor Robyn Young from the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work fondly remembers that even after his retirement, Professor Feather came into the office at Flinders on most mornings, before heading off to surf or play tennis. He enjoyed having lunch most days in the common room and rarely missed a colloquium.
Professor Feather made a sustained and dedicated contribution to the foundation and development of Psychology at Flinders, and served both the University and the psychology discipline in Australia with distinction over a very long career. Vale Norm Feather – to a life well lived.