Russell Eisenman, a psychology professor who taught at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and legacy institution University of Texas-Pan American, died June 24, 2022, at his residence in Edinburg. He was 82.
Dr. Eisenman was born on April 17, 1940, in Savannah, Georgia, to Abram and Georgia Eisenman.
He received his doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Georgia.
Before working in Edinburg, he was employed as a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia; The University of California, Santa Cruz; McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Dr. Eisenman worked at legacy institution UTPA and UTRGV as a psychology professor for about 20 years.
“Students liked him very much,” said Jerwen Jou, a professor in the Department of Psychological Science and a colleague of Dr. Eisenman who knew him since 2001. “He was very kind to his students. He was very nice to his colleagues, including me.”
Asked what he will always remember about Dr. Eisenman, Jou said that he admired his “spirit of never wanting to retire.”
“I would remember him as a person who never stops working, even at the age of over 80 years of age,” he said. “His determination to work and never retire is something that I think is admired.”
Jou said that a couple of weeks before Dr. Eisenman’s death, he expressed interest in a journal.
“He emailed the department saying he became the associate editor of a journal and encouraged colleagues to submit papers to that journal,” he said.
Dr. Eisenman’s son, David, described his father as “very smart and funny.”
“His sharp mind and great sense of humor made him a good teacher and a fun and interesting person to talk to,” David Eisenman wrote in an email to The Rider. “[He] was loved and will be missed for all of his unique qualities and joy.”
Besides his son David, Dr. Eisenman is survived by his daughter Susan and grandson Kelsey, both of Santa Cruz, California; brother Bob, of Oakland, California; and best friend Ramiro Zamora, of Edinburg.
