College mourns passing of Donald Schiff, professor emeritus of psychology

It is with sadness that the College shares the news of the passing of Professor Emeritus Donald Schiff, who taught courses in the Psychology Department at New Paltz from 1963 until his retirement in 2000.

Schiff was a Navy veteran who served during the Korean War. He went on to earn bachelors and master degrees from Brooklyn College and his Ph.D from New York University.

Schiff came to a young Psychology Department at SUNY New Paltz in 1963. He spearheaded the effort to establish modern psychology labs to support undergraduate research and hands-on learning.

Many of Schiff’s courses focused on statistics. A 2008 Psychology Department newsletter includes the following account of Schiff’s teaching style from alumnus Gerry Dizinno ’70:

“I’ve had many other statistics instructors since Don in my life, and he still stands out as the best. Without his help and guidance, I would never have succeeded in graduate statistics courses. My teaching responsibilities since I started as a college instructor have always included statistics – introductory through advanced/multivariate – and I still, to this day, “plagiarize” Don’s methods and explanations!”

Don Schiff and his wife, Joyce, were wed in 1958. Over the course of a happy marriage they had four children and 10 grandchildren.

The Schiffs were active and engaged members of the community. Donald was a little league umpire, helped found the Jewish Community Center, and served as County Ombudsman for numerous regional nursing homes. Joyce has served for many years as Chair of Volunteers for the Lifetime Learning Institute at SUNY New Paltz.

The Schiff family produced a detailed obituary that can be read by following this link.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, Jan. 20, at noon at Copeland Funeral Home in New Paltz. Burial will follow at the New Paltz Rural Cemetery.

The family will be sitting shiva privately on Friday afternoon. They will welcome visitors to their home at 37 North Manheim Blvd. in New Paltz on Sunday, Jan. 22, from 2-5 p.m., with a mincha kaddish service scheduled at 3:30 p.m.