By Frederick N. Rasmussen , fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com|June 19, 2009
Raymond H. Starr Jr., a retired University of Maryland, Baltimore County developmental psychologist who was an internationally known expert on child abuse, died Tuesday of cancer at his Pikesville home. He was 69.
Dr. Starr was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., where he graduated from Pen-Day School in 1958.
He earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University in 1962. In 1965, he earned a master's degree in experimental psychology from the University of Denver.
Dr. Starr's doctorate, which he earned from the University of Cincinnati in 1968, was in the field of developmental psychology.
He began his career in 1965 at the University of Cincinnati as a research assistant in developmental psychology. From 1968 to 1972, he was a research associate at the Merrill-Palmer Institute in Detroit.
From 1971 to 1977, when he joined the UMBC faculty, Dr. Starr held concurrent teaching and research positions at the University of Detroit and Wayne State University, and was assistant director for the Family Center for the Prevention and Study of Child Abuse at Children's Hospital in Detroit.
In 1982, he expanded his responsibilities when he became an adjunct research assistant and professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Although he supervised graduate and doctoral students at UMBC, he never lost his love for teaching undergraduates who were taking psychology courses for the first time.
"He was an extraordinarily dedicated teacher who loved taking students who were taking psychology as an elective and turning them into psych majors," said Robert H. Deluty, a longtime friend and colleague, who is associate dean of graduate students at UMBC.
Something of a character, Dr. Starr was known for his black-framed glasses that featured a left round lens and a square right one.
More than 20 years ago, Dr. Starr, Dr. Howard Dubowitz, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who specializes in child abuse cases, and Dr. Maureen M. Black, also a professor of pediatrics at the medical school, formed a child abuse research group that spanned two campuses, UMBC and the medical school at Maryland.
"The best part of our collaboration were our students, and Dr. Starr loved them. His leadership enabled many students from UMBC to work at the medical school downtown," Dr. Black said.
