We at Child & Family Behavior Therapy are greatly saddened by the very recent passing of its Distinguished Editor Emeritus, Cyril M. Franks, PhD. Cyril was Professor Emeritus at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology of Rutgers University. A true giant in the field of behavior therapy, he was one of the 10 founding members and first president of the Association for Advancement of Behavioral Therapies, now the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Cyril was the Founding Editor of the journal Behavior Therapy. In addition to his many years as Editor of Child & Family Behavior Therapy he was also the Co-Editor of the Journal of Compliance in Healthcare and the Series Editor of the Springer Publication Series on Behavior Therapy and Behavioral Medicine. Cyril served as the Program Chairperson for the New Jersey Psychological Association and for the Pavlovian Society of North America. He pursued a lifelong interest in the conceptual and philosophical foundations of behavior therapy. He was a Fellow in the American Psychological Association divisions of Personality and Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Community Psychology, State Psychological Association Affairs and History of Psychology. Cyril was also a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Cyril was a prolific author, contributing many books, including the Annual Reviews of Behavior Therapy, and many book chapters, book reviews, and scientific articles to the field of behavior therapy. His keen observations and critiques influenced a host of academicians and scholars in the field of psychology.
The bio on Cyril could go on for many pages and fill a book, given his enormous impact on the field of behavior therapy and due to his wide-ranging contributions. More personally, Cyril was our mentor, the chair and member of our dissertation committees, and an ever present beacon, focusing on expertise, accuracy and the application of the scientific method to all things psychological. His sharp thinking, insights, familiarity with a vast body of knowledge pertaining to psychology, and remarkable capacity to determine the trends and essential ingredients of behavior therapy influenced our perspectives and practices. He was able to combine a critical mind with a sharp sense of humor and brought both to every situation in which he participated. He loved a good scientific spat, a well performed joke as well as critical and insightful discussions with the many students whom he has influenced positively over the course of decades as an educator. He is survived by his delightful wife Violet, the inspiration for the color palettes on the journals he edited, and their children and grandchildren. Cyril will be missed by us personally, by all who knew, respected, and loved him and by the field of psychology in general. He is an icon who cannot be replaced. May peace be with him.