Patrick J. O'Donnell (12 July 1947 - 9 April 2016) was a Scottish academic and professor of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He was renown throughout the university and the wide community for his wit and enthusiasm in his teaching.

Career

''O'Donnell'' was born in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and attended Holy Cross Primary School and then St Aloysius College where he was Head Boy and Dux. He proceeded to the

. After graduating with a First in psychology he was appointed as an assistant lecturer in 1969. He was quickly promoted to lecturer and rapidly rose up the ranks. He was appointed as Dean of Social Sciences in 1983 and was promoted to senior lecturer in 1987. He was Head of Department in Psychology for 11 years and subsequently, Deputy Head of School until his retirement in 2015. He was promoted to Professor of Teaching, Learning and Assessment in 2006. He had a strong reputation for his teaching. He taught at the School of Psychology for more than 45 years, teaching circa 25,000 students. He had a reputation among students who created a Facebook page called “The Legend that is Paddy O’Donnell.” His research was wide-ranging and included work on computer interfaces, addiction, therapeutic treatments, and decision-making in accounting. He was frequently consulted by the media. He was also involved in the UCU.

Personal life

He is survived by his wife and daughter. He died at home in

after a year-long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Patrick Scottish psychologists 2016 deaths People from Govan Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics