Reva Gerstein

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Reva Gerstein bigraphy, stories - Canadian psychologist and educator

Reva Gerstein : biography

27 March 1917 –

Reva Appleby Gerstein, (born 27 March 1917 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian psychologist and educator. She was the first woman Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 1992 to 1996.

A pioneer in Canadian mental health, she helped establish the Hincks Treatment Centre for adolescents, the Gerstein Crisis Centre for psychiatric patients and initiated Mental Health Week.

Reva Appleby married Bertrand Gerstein on 5 June 1939 at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple. The couple had two sons, Irving Russell (1941-) and Ira Michael (1947-). In the fall of 1979, she remarried to David Raitblat, a Toronto Symphony Orchestra board member at the time and previously a construction company owner.

Honours

  • In 1974, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, promoted to Officer in 1979, and promoted to Companion in 1997.
  • In 1975 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Guelph.
  • In 1988, she was awarded the Order of Ontario.
  • In 1993, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (psychologist, community & university service) from York University.
  • In 1996, she was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Toronto.
  • She is a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association.