Joseph Fagan

Fagan received his B.A. from the University of Hartford in 1963 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1965 and 1967, respectively.[3]

Fagan joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University in 1968, and became a full professor there ten years later. In 1990, he received the endowed Leffingwell professorship at Case Western, and from 1990 to 1995 he chaired the Department of Psychological Sciences there.[3]

Fagan was known for his research into intelligence testing of infants,[3] and he developed one such test that can predict how successful an infant will be when he or she begins taking classes,[4] as well as another test that he said could predict the likelihood of an infant developing a mental disability by age 3.[5] He also conducted research on the relationship between race and intelligence, and concluded from this research that the black-white IQ gap was due to environmental factors.[6] He also published a number of studies in the early 1980s that found a correlation between novelty preference among infants and their later cognitive test scores.[7] His research has also found a link between infant IQ test scores and academic achievement by age 21. He conducted much of his research along with his wife, Cynthia Holland, a professor of psychology at Cuyahoga Community College.[8]

Fagan died on August 10, 2013 of pancreatic cancer, at the age of 71.[1][3] In his honor, Case Western created the Joseph F. Fagan, III Award for Research Excellence, which is awarded annually to "a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences who demonstrates a passion and commitment to research excellence."[9]