Introduction
Vincent V. Herr, S.J. (1901-1970)
Vincent V. Herr, S.J. grew up in a small town in northern Ohio. He received his B.A. in 1925, and M.A. in 1926 from St. Louis University. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1919 and was ordained a priest in 1932. After several years of theological study and academic pursuits in the physical sciences, Herr became interested in the behavioral sciences. He studied psychology at the University of Vienna under Karl and Charlotte Buehler and received his Ph.D. from the University of Bonn in 1939. With the rise of the German Nazi persecution of Catholic people, he returned to the USA and joined the faculty of psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Herr served as Department Head from 1945 to 1965 and remained an active member of the faculty until his death in 1970 at the age of 68 years.
During his time at Loyola, Herr pursued a range of inter-related projects using innovative assessment approaches to measure linguistic, emotional, and social aspects of healthy and abnormal mental states. He was adept in experimental techniques which he applied to questions in psychiatry and social psychology. Herr investigated individual differences in emotionality and empathy through original tasks and instrumental measures. He collaborated with colleagues at Harvard and Yeshiva Universities on the Religion and Mental Health project which was supported by successive grants from the National Institute of Mental Health. Throughout his career, Herr maintained a large interdisciplinary network that extended outward from city and state to national and international academic, professional, and religious organizations. He authored numerous journal articles and books and was honored by many academic and professional bodies.