Abstract
It is with great sadness that I note the recent deaths of Marnie Rice, PhD (August 17, 2015), and Mark Chaffin, PhD (August 23, 2015). Both were tremendous contributors to the sexual abuse literature, as authors and as long-time reviewers or Editorial Board members of this journal.
Marnie was a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at McMaster University, and associate professor of psychology at Queen’s University. She worked as a psychologist and researcher at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (formerly the Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene) for 40 years, serving as director of the research department for 14 of those years.
Marnie is probably best known to readers of this journal for her work on sex offender risk appraisal, but she also contributed greatly to our knowledge of sex offender characteristics, paraphilias, and treatment and management of both sexual and nonsexual violence. Her excellent work was recognized with many awards, including the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to Research in Public Policy, Career Contribution Award from the Criminal Justice Section of the Canadian Psychological Association, and recognition as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Having known Marnie for many years, I can attest to the testimonies of many colleagues and friends regarding her warmth, generosity, and kindness. She was a role model for me and I suspect for many others as well.
Mark had recently been appointed a professor in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University after working as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where he directed research at its Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. His practice, teaching, and research focused mainly on the development and implementation of evidence-based service models in youth-serving systems, particularly child welfare and juvenile justice. He was a passionate advocate for youth and for evidence-based practices, and I remember many excellent (often late night) conversations at the annual Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference. He was smart, funny, and always engaging.
With the death of Grant Harris, another giant in sexual abuse research (briefly mentioned in Seto, 2015), it has been a tough year for our field and our community. Grant was also a member of the research department at the Waypoint Mental Health Centre for 35 years, taking over as director after Marnie’s semi-retirement in 2002. They were long-time collaborators, and along with Vern Quinsey, contributed tremendously to our knowledge of sex offender assessment and management. Grant was an associate professor in psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association. In 1997, he and his research colleagues were honored with the Amethyst Award for Excellence in the Ontario Public Service. Grant combined many of the notable characteristics of Marnie and Mark: He was smart, funny, generous, and extraordinarily loyal to his friends, colleagues, and fishing buddies.
I was fortunate to co-author an article in this journal with all three (Seto et al., 2008). As you might note from reading the article, all of these superb scholars were willing to challenge orthodox opinions, even or especially when it was unpopular. Science and evidence-based policies and practices really mattered to all three of them. Grant, Marnie, and Mark will be greatly missed.