Denny, M. Ray (Maurice Ray), 1918-2001

Maurice Ray Denny, better known as M. Ray Denny, was born November 5, 1918. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1942 and his Master of Arts degree in 1943 from the University of Michigan. He earned his doctoral degree in psychology under Kenneth Spence at the University of Iowa in 1945 and accepted his first teaching position at the University of Oklahoma shortly thereafter. In 1946 Denny accepted a position in the psychology department at Michigan State University. He was promoted to full professor in 1953 and professor emeritus in 1983.

Denny worked as a consultant for the Veteran Administration in Battle Creek, Michigan from 1952-1967. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and several divisions of the American Psychological Association. Her served on the executive board and later as president of the Midwestern Psychological Association.

Denny's main research interests were in the fields of behaviorism and learning theory.

Denny died at his home in Okemos, Michigan on February 19, 2001.

From the guide to the Maurice Ray Denny papers, 1945-1988, (Center for the History of Psychology)