Dael Lee Wolfle (1906-2002) left a legacy of distinguished public service and significant contributions to the field of science and public policy. After founding the Department of Psychology at the University of Mississippi, he served as a civilian training administrator for the U.S. Army Signal Corps and then as a technical aide for the Office of Scientific Research and Development. These experiences prepared him superbly for 16 years of service as executive director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where he also published the prestigious Science magazine.
In 1970, Wolfle returned to the Graduate School of Public Affairs (now the Evans School), where he taught and inspired students of public administration until his last organized seminar in 1996. Major organizations sought Professor Wolfle's expertise for numerous committees and advisory panels, including the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, UNESCO, the U.S. Office of Education, the National Science Foundation, the President's Committee on Scientists and Engineers, the President's Science Advisory Committee, the Pacific Science Center, the Russell Sage Foundation, the American Medical Association, and the American Cancer Society. Professor Wolfle published numerous articles and books on the discovery and use of scientific talent and received many honors and awards, including the UW's Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award in 1979.
He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from The Ohio State University.