Ford and his wife, Carol, who preceded him in death in 2011, came to State College and Penn State in 1952 when he began a doctoral program in psychology. After earning his doctorate, Ford was named assistant professor of psychology and coordinator of training at the University’s Psychology Clinic.
In 1958, Ford was named head of the University’s new Division of Counseling. He led the division — which was novel at that time nationally because it combined mental health and academic counseling — for nine years. Importantly, he included students and their parents in a systematic program to assess their vocational interests and their academic aptitude, as well as any social, psychological or academic problems that could potentially compromise their academic success. This continued when the Division of Counseling became the Division of Undergraduate Studies in 1973.
In the early 1960s, Ford was tapped for several leadership assignments by President Eric Walker, including being asked in 1963 to serve on the “1980 Committee,” comprised of faculty and administrators from across Penn State who would explore what the University would look like in 1980. One of the committee’s recommendations was to develop a new college that would help solve societal problems by incorporating multidisciplinary knowledge into the study of human development.
President Walker accepted the 1980 Committee’s recommendation and asked Ford to head the new College of Human Development as dean in 1967. Ford proceeded to establish a college that was organized into four multidisciplinary divisions that addressed various aspects of human development occurring within the major contexts of human functioning. Accordingly, the four divisions were named biological health, community development, man-environment relations, and individual and family studies.
Although Ford had major administrative responsibilities throughout his Penn State career, he also was a productive scholar, culminating in the 1987 publication of his seminal volume titled "Humans as Self-Constructing Living Systems: A Developmental Perspective on Behavior and Personality." This work continues to be influential as a foundational, multidisciplinary view of human development in context. The impact of Ford’s innovative thinking and creativity will be felt at Penn State and in the larger scientific community for many years to come.
Remaining in the role of dean until 1977, Ford then returned to the faculty in the College of Human Development, where he taught courses and published several books. He retired from Penn State in 1991.
After retirement, Ford remained active in the local community and with the University.
Ford established a fund to support professional development opportunities for doctoral students in the College of Health and Human Development departments of Human Development and Family Studies and Biobehavioral Health. In honor of his wife, he also endowed the Carol Clark Ford Staff Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements of staff, clerical or technical service employees in the College of Health and Human Development.
Most recently, he partnered with the College of Nursing — now the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing — to explore ways to apply what he learned from his wife’s battle with Alzheimer's to programs in elder care. This partnership led to the creation of the globally recognized program for Person-Centered Living Systems of Care in the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence.
In 2007, the college and University honored Ford by renaming the former Business Administration Building to the Donald H. Ford Building, which remains home to several different academic departments and research activities in the College of Health and Human Development.
Read more about Ford’s life, impact and family in his obituary, along with details on memorial contributions, which will support the Program for Person-Centered Living Systems of Care in the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing.