Campbell/Spillane Substance Use Research - Interview with Ray Oakley

Abstract

Oakley S. Ray, PhD, was Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, at Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University. He retired as Executive Secretary of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) in 2005. Over the years, Dr. Ray‘s psychology courses ranked among the most popular in the College of Arts and Science and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He was quoted by or interviewed by reporters from the BBC, The New York Times, Boston Globe, The (Nashville) Tennessean, National Public Radio and many other media outlets. He provided commentary on everything from substance abuse—a subject on which he was a national expert—to lighter fare such as the mood of the city of Nashville after the Tennessee Titans lost Super Bowl XXXIV. He earned his bachelor‘s degree in psychology from Cornell University, then a master‘s and doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. He served in the Army from 1952 to 1954. After teaching at the University of Pittsburgh and Chatham College, Dr. Ray was hired by Vanderbilt in 1970 as a faculty member of both its university and medical school. He won Vanderbilt‘s Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching in 1972, and in 1979 was awarded the Chancellor‘s Cup for making the greatest contribution outside the classroom to student-faculty relationships. He was granted emeritus status in 2002. Concurrent with his Vanderbilt career, Ray served at the Nashville Veterans Administration Medical Center for 14 years as the chief of the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Unit. He also served from 1979 to 2005 as secretary of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, which supports the development of the next generation of scientists, researchers and clinicians, working in the area of brain-behavior-drug interactions. Ray published the first edition of Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior in 1972. The 12th edition, now co-written by Charles Ksir and Carl Hart, was published in 2006. More than 400 colleges have used the textbook and it has sold more than a half-million copies. He also wrote books for general audiences including The Good Life: How to Get It … How to Keep It, Grandma‘s Rules for Good Health and Long Life and Grandma‘s Rules for Understanding and Changing Behavior. Dr. Ray died February 6, 2007 at the age of 76.