1919-2011
Harold Michal-Smith, PhD, President of the AAMR 1986-1987 Board of Directors, passed away on December 20, 2011. He was 92.
Born in Plattsburg, New York, he earned a bachelor’s at Boston University, a master’s at Harvard, and doctorate at New York University.
His long academic career included appointments at Princeton, New York Medical College, and Fordham, Adelphi, and Long Island Universities and was the Associate Director of what is now the Westchester Institute for Human Development UCEDD.
Following the exposure of abuses at Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, Dr. Michal-Smith was appointed to the committee responsible for overseeing compliance with the Consent Decree, work for which he was widely praised.
Dr. Michal-Smith authored several books and served on a number of Boards, including the New York League for Early Learning, Premier HealthCare, and Rockland County Association for Learning Disabilities, and American Association on Mental Retardation. In 1985, he was awarded the AAMR Service Award.
A member of the Association for 65 years, Dr. Michal-Smith served as president of the American Association on Mental Retardation from 1986-1987.
Click here to make a donation to AAIDD in his memory.