Earl Carlson, 95, died peacefully on December 25, 2022, in Providence, RI in the loving arms of his wife of 45 years, Susan Glogovac. 

 

Born in Seattle to John and Eleanor Carlson, Dr. Carlson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Washington in 1948 with a degree in psychology and went on to complete his PhD at the University of Michigan in 1954. After teaching at Michigan State University, he spent his career as a professor of social psychology at California State University in Long Beach, retiring in 1990. 

 

Dr. Carlson’s lifelong interest in social issues, human rights, and political action animated his academic career and prompted him to establish the Earl R. Carlson Professorship in Psychology at the University of Washington in 1999 and the Eleanor Carlson Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Psychology in 2002. He was inspired in part by his mother, raised in poverty, whose desperate desire to go to college was thwarted by an affluent uncle unwilling to loan her the necessary $200, believing women didn’t need higher education.

 

Both endowments are focused on the study of privilege, in essence the importance of differences in the advantages/disadvantages that children experience growing up. Dr. Ana Mari Cauce, now the President of the University of Washington, was the inaugural recipient of the professorship in 2000. On Dr. Carlson’s 85th birthday, President Cauce wrote to him: “You’ve created a legacy here, you’ve changed the lives of students you don’t even know. You’ve pushed me and us to think more seriously about our public mission & the privilege we have & the privilege it is to serve.”

 

Outside the professional realm, Dr. Carlson’s taste for adventure led him to travels across six continents, often with programs that had a social service or scientific focus. His patience and ability to concentrate made him a special asset on archeological digs. He loved beauty, especially Japanese gardens and prints, and collected art. He was also an intrepid hiker and mountain climber, a demon tennis player, and a world-class provider of belly laughs and bear hugs. 

 

In the early 2000’s, Earl met Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism.  He felt at home in this community with its focus on the practices of generosity, loving kindness, and compassion for self and others.  In September 2013, he received transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings from Thich Nhat Hanh and was given the Dharma name, Wise Ocean of the Heart.  

 

Dr. Carlson’s first two marriages, to the late Rae Carlson and the late Helena Dobson Carlson, both psychology professors, ended in divorce. In addition to his wife Susan Glogovac, he is survived by two daughters from his first marriage: Leslie Carlson (Mahlon Soloway) of Santa Fe, NM, and Tracy Carlson (Alex Kozlov) of Charlottesville, VA, and his stepdaughter Tara Nummedal (Seth Rockman) of Providence, RI, as well as five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

 

A memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Earthwatch, ACLU or any organization of choice working for social justice and peace.