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Constructivist Chronicle
Memphis 3-D Leaves CPN ‘All Shook Up’
By Richard ‘Buddy’
Saunders
Vol. 8, Issue 2 (Fall 2004)
Memphis sits in
the southwest corner of Tennessee, overlooking the Mississippi
river. It has all the charm of a quaint, slow-paced, southern
city. However, Memphis is also a city infused with energy.
Memphis is the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and
roll. Downtown is in the process of being completely rebuilt from
the Pyramid to the famous Beale Street. This is the vibrant city
where Danny Thomas chose to build his children's research
hospital. It is also the hometown of Federal Express, the sponsor
of the beautiful new FedEx Institute of Technology, which was the
venue for the NAPCN, ahem, make that the newly renamed
Constructivist Psychology Network conference.
President Jon Raskin, steering and conference committee members Sara
Bridges, Bob Neimeyer, Ken Sewell, Stephanie Harter, Jay Efran, and
April Metzler unveiled the new name of the organization during the
Welcome Reception. They cleverly distributed mouse pads with the
new logo and website address.
During this celebration, Ken Sewell had the pleasure of introducing
his mentor, Rue Cromwell, as the recipient of the CPN Life
Achievement Award. Rue, a former Kelly student, earned his
Distinguished Professorship at The University of Kansas by making
major research
contributions in the fields of PCP, Mental Retardation, Myocardial
Infarction, Schizophrenia, and the conceptualization of Trauma.
Rue regaled all with anecdotes of his days as a Kelly student at
Ohio State University. For one, Kelly, a teetotaler, would bring a
case of beer to entice a group of students (Rue among them) to
listen and give feedback as he read early drafts of his manuscript
of The Psychology of Personal Constructs. Rue received a big laugh
when he noted that the pressures of such impromptu talks gave him a
true appreciation of posthumous awards.
Participants came from all corners of North America, Italy, Spain,
Germany, Ireland, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand to
engage in a keen intellectual and experiential exchange (exemplified
by Bob and Kathy Neimeyer's conference opening house party and Franz
Epting's Philo Café).
As is traditional at PCP banquets, the previous convenor, Marla
Arvay, thanked Sara Bridges and Bob Neimeyer for putting on a
wonderfully "seamless conference." Special thanks also go out to
Caroline Stanley for creating a photographic diary of the
conference.
The banquet was held at the Stax Museum, which was the perfect venue
to imbibe the unique flavor of Memphis. Like any other southern
city, Memphis had a long history of racial unrest. However, in the
early 1960's, the young musicians at Stax recording studios, intent
on their gritty, raw soul music, bridged the gap by simply ignoring
color lines (at least until the assassination of Martin Luther King,
Jr. at the nearby Lorraine Motel).
It was in this spirit of bridging the gaps that separate us (in
parlance, the loosening and tightening of constructs) that
Constructivism 3D, Diversity, Development, and Dialogue was such a
huge success.
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