University Times

Martha Mattingly, professor emeritus in the School of Education, died Feb. 4, 2013. She was 75.

Mattingly, who retired in 2005 after 37 years on the Pitt faculty, was a professor of applied developmental psychology in the School of Education’s psychology in education department.

A licensed psychologist, Mattingly was known for her efforts directed at the professionalism of child-care workers. She co-directed a National Institutes of Mental Health project addressing the sequencing of child-care educational programs. Her research and writing focused on child-care practice, both in ethics as well as in the area of job stress and burnout among workers in the child-care and child mental-health professions.

“She was a woman of great integrity and a wonderful teacher,” said Carl Johnson, chair of psychology in education.

Mattingly was internationally known as a pioneer in children and youth work, a field that in many ways was “neglected” and characterized by poorly paid and untrained workers. “She understood working with this very challenging population that really needs people who know how to deal with kids this age,” he said. “She always really enjoyed youth and the challenges they brought.”

He said, “She was very much someone who wanted her work grounded in the real world of practice. She was also very much a scientist in orientation.”

Mattingly earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Ohio State and her master’s and PhD in psychology at Duquesne University.

“She had a scientific base that she always valued and took an empirical, critical eye to her work.”

Johnson noted that Mattingly’s educational background, which brought together both science and liberal arts, provided her with an “objective scientific base and a phenomenological bent,” adding that she paid close attention in her work to how people view the world. “She recognized it in dealing with adolescents as well as with students who were trying to become professionals that it was important to understand their point of view and where they were coming from.”

She came to Pitt in 1969 as a part-time adjunct instructor in child development/child care (CD/CC) in what was the School of Health Related Professions (SHRP), now the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She rose to adjunct assistant professor in 1970, was promoted to assistant professor in 1971 and in 1977 became an associate professor. She was promoted to full professor in 1983.

Her primary appointment was transferred to the School of Social Work in 1986, with her secondary appointment remaining in SHRP.

Mattingly directed the CD/CC program 1989-95. The CD/CC program moved from social work to the School of Education in 2000.

Mattingly was a member of the American Psychological Association, the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Child Care Workers. She also had served on the board of editors of Child Care Quarterly.

Mattingly was recognized in 1993 with the Child Care Association of Pennsylvania’s Frances Vandivier Award for support and education of child, youth and family workers; in 1994 with the Inter Association Child Care Conference’s Outstanding Child and Youth Care Award for outstanding service and dedication to the profession of child and youth work, and in 2000 with the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice (ACYCP) Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the profession of child and youth care work.

Beyond her professional work, Mattingly was active in St. Rosalia Parish in Greenfield and sang in its church choir, Johnson said.

“She was down-to-earth, practical and approachable, but also tough,” he said. “She had high standards and values that guided her.”

She left no immediate survivors.

Memorial donations may be made to the ACYCP Martha Mattingly Scholarship Fund at www.cyccb.org/support or c/o ACYCP, 1701 Southwest Parkway, Suite 113, College Station, Texas 77840.

—Kimberly K. Barlow