L. Rowell Huesmann, Ph.D., Amos N. Tversky Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies and Psychology, professor emeritus of communication and media, and professor emeritus of psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and research professor emeritus in the Research Center for Group Dynamics within the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, passed away on December 21, 2026 at the age of 82.
Professor Huesmann received his B.S. (1964) degree from the University of Michigan, his M.S. (1967) degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. (1969) degree from Carnegie Mellon University. He served as a lecturer (1968-69), assistant professor (1969-73), and associate professor (1973) at Yale University. He served as an associate professor (1973-79), professor (1979-1992), and department chair (1987-90) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as a professor in 1992. Professor Huesmann retired from active faculty status on May 31, 2020.
Professor Huesmann was a leading figure in the study of one of the most important topics in the field of Media Psychology. When motion pictures became popular, public worry about the prevalence of violence in many of them immediately became a hot topic. When television appeared, this concern became even more prominent. Professor Huesmann established media effects as a serious, cumulative science. He insisted on evidence, theory, and internal and external validity. His work showed that exposure to media violence is not just linked to momentary arousal or imitation, but to the gradual acquisition of aggressive scripts, beliefs, and expectations that can persist across development. What made this claim hard to ignore was the way it was built, including longitudinal research that followed individuals from childhood into adulthood, grounded in social-cognitive theory and tested patiently rather than rhetorically.
Just as consequential was his influence on how the field learned to argue with itself. Huesmann pushed for careful measurement, replication, and theoretical integration, even when that slowed things down or complicated simple narratives. His research mattered in policy contexts because it did not promise easy fixes or dramatic effects, and because it treated media influence as probabilistic, developmental, and cumulative. He moved comfortably across psychology, communication, and public health, but never blurred their differences, and many scholars learned from him that taking media seriously does not require exaggeration. The standard he set was demanding, sometimes inconvenient, and over time, it reshaped what counted as a responsible claim in media effects research. He embodied the principle that social sciences at Michigan take methodology very seriously and that no progress can be made unless it is based on the most rigorous, falsifiable work. He would probe job applicants or guest speakers relentlessly to reveal or expose their attitudes towards such rigor.
Professor Huesmann authored more than 100 widely cited scientific articles and received numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association’s award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to MediaPsychology and the International Society for Research on Aggression’s J Paul Scott Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to Aggression Research. He testified frequently before Congress and directed several national committees examining the causes of violence, including the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention from 2010-15. He was a past president of the International Society for Research on Aggression and a life member of Clare Hall College, Cambridge University. Professor Huesmann served as director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at U-M’s ISR (2006-12) and acting chair of the Department of Communication Studies (1993-94).
Professor Huesmann was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of nearly 61 years, Alice Lynn “Penny” Graham Huesmann. He is survived by his children, Kimberly (John) Larsen and Graham Rowell; grandchildren, Nicholas and Ryan Loychik and McKenna Delaney; sister, Nancy Huesmann Reed; nieces and nephews, Mary Christine Reed, Michael Reed, Maureen Reed Walsh, Karen Reed Ejercito, Kathleen Reed Foote, Scott Graham, Debra Graham, and Jill Graham; and lifelong friends, Eric and Jennifer Dubow.
Professor Huesmann’s obituary can be found at this link.
A University Record joint obituary can be found at this link.
