Lester Dean Keasey, Ph.D.

Appalachian State University

Universities and colleges--Faculty

Dr. Richard D. Howe

1987

Biographical sketches

Boone (N.C.)

https://www.geonames.org/4456703/boone.html

1980s

2000-2010

Professor Emeritus

Professor Emeritus of Sociology. Lester Dean Keasey (May 6, 1920 -), retired college professor, married Joy Silvis Keasey, a primary school teacher, on June 28,1947. They have two children: John Mark and Paul Allen. Keasey enrolled at Gettysburg College in 1940 and received a B.A. degree in 1943. He then attended Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1945. He graduated from New York University with a M.A. degree in 1949. Keasey then served as assistant professor of psychology at Wittenberg University from 1949-51. From 1951 to 1955 he studied at the University of Pitts­burgh, where he earned a Ph.D. degree. He served at Lenoir-Rhyne College as professor of sociology and religion from 1955 to 1967. In 1963-64 he received post-doctoral train­ing in marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota where he was a NIMH Fellow. Dr. Keasey began his career with Ap­palachian State University (Appalachian, ASU) in 1967 as professor of sociology. He also served as a visiting professor of sociol­ogy at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (1978), and at Pembroke University (1980). Prior to his retirement Keasey was very active in the activities of Appalachian as well as the activities of Watauga County. He served on the Family Life Council of Watauga County as consultant and advisor from 1972 to 1986. From 1970 to 1977 he served as general college advisor for the sociology department at ASU. He served as chairman of the traffic and safety committee from 1977-79, and served on the sociology department personnel committee from 1977-80. During the spring semester of 1980 he was director of the Appalachian House in Washington, D.C. From 1970 to 1986 he worked part-time as a marriage and family counselor at Appalachian's Counseling Center while he carried three-fourths of a teaching load. During this time he also served as a marriage and family therapist for low-income families and married couples of Southern Appalachia; his caseload for 1983 was 163 families. Dr. Keasey conducted informal re­search on ASU student drug use and its ef­fects on married students with co-researcher Albert Greene from 1980-83. He developed two new graduate courses for the sociology department's masters concentration in mar­riage and family therapy, and taught those classes from 1983 until his retirement in 1986. From 1984 to 1986 he served as chairman on the joint committee to develop a masters concentration in marriage and fam­ily therapy for the departments of sociology, psychology and counselor education. He served as supervisor of fellow professionals reaching for clinical membership in AAMFT, from 1972, and also served as supervisor of four interns per year at the ASU Counseling Center from 1979 until 1986. Throughout his long career Dr. Keasey participated in numerous professional or­ganizations including: Hickory Church sponsored Family Life Council, program chairman and program leader, 1955-67; Hickory United Way, board of directors member, 1956-66 and chairman, 1959-60; Senior Citizens of Hickory, chairman, board of directors, 1959; Hildebran PTA, presi­dent, 1960-62; Family Guidance Center, executive director and organizer, 1959-67; AAUP, president, Appalachian Chapter, 1960-61; North Carolina Family Life Coun­cil, Inc., board of directors, 1956-71 and president, 1969-71; National Council on Family Relations, chairman, Task Force on Reorganization, 1970-72; North Carolina Association of Marriage and Family Coun­selors, president, 1970-72; Family Life Council of Watauga County, president, 1972-74; American Association for Mar­riage and Family Therapy, approved supervi­sor, 1972 -; Council on Aging for Watauga County, chairman, 1977-81; Southeastern Association of Marriage and Family Thera­pists, president, 1977-80; Southeastern Council on Family Relations, chairman, awards committee, 1977-78; Southeastern Council on Family Relations, second vice-president, 1978-80; and North Carolina As­sociation of Marriage and Family Therapy, board of directors, 1983. Dr. Lester Keasey has won the follow­ing awards: Lutheran Fellow, New York University, 1948-49; Distinguished Service Award, Five-year, Lions International, 1961; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellow, University of Minnesota, 1963-64; Alpha Kappa Delta's Advisor's Award of the National Sociology Honor Society, 1974; Irwin V. Sperry Award for distinguished contribution to the family field, The North Carolina Family Life Council, Inc., 1976. Dr. Keasey conducted a five-year sur­vey on personal student growth in human development within marriage and family classes, a venture of fifty universities and colleges affiliated with the National Council on Family Relations. Dr. Keasey's publications include: "The Readability of the Christian Growth Series of Church School Materials," Religious Educa­tion, May-June, 1956. "The Readability of the Christian Growth Series of Church School Materials, a Re-Visit," Relig­ious Dimensions, ed. by Lawrence C. Little. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1966. "Mind, Self, and Society: The Contributions of George Herbert Mead to Sociology," ASU, Faculty Publications, 1968-69. "Family Life Education in North Carolina," Proceed­ings, Minneapolis, Minnesota, National Coun­cil on Family Relations, 1970. For the last 20 years Keasey has been a book reviewer for the following publica­tions: Journal of Marriage and Family, National Council on Family Relations, and Southeastern Council on Family Relations; and, Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, and Southeastern Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In retirement, Dr. Keasey enjoys read­ing, traveling, hiking, gardening, and playing tennis. The Keasey's reside near Boone, N.C. Source: Personal correspondence with Lester Keasey. - Dr. Richard D. Howe