In Memoriam: Leslie Altman Recoria, 1945-2020

Leslie Rescorla, professor emeritus of psychology and Class of 1897 Professor of Science Emeritus at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, passed away this past fall. She was 75 years old and suffered from sarcoma.

Kim Cassidy, president of Bryn Mawr College said that professor Rescoria “modeled passion for teaching, and taking joy in watching students learn; demonstrated that a commitment to research goes hand in hand with good teaching; and was an exemplar of service to the college. She brought extraordinary energy, determination, and creativity to all parts of her work and her life.”

A native of Washington, D.C., Professor Rescoria majored in modern European history at Radcliffe College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1967, and earned a master’s degree in economic history at the London School of Economics in 1968. Her scholarly interests then shifted, and she went on to earn a Ph.D. in child development and clinical psychology from Yale University in 1976.

Dr. Rescoria taught at the University of Pennsylvania and later was hired in 1985 as an assistant professor and advanced to an endowed full professorship at Bryn Mawr College. At Bryn Mawr, she served as chair of the psychology department, director of the Ph.D. program in psychology, director of the Child Study Institute, and director of the Thorne Preschool Programs. Her research focused on late development of language in children.