The Multiple Lives of Paul H. Elovitz

I have often wondered if there is more than one Paul H. Elovitz. It is hard for me to visualize how one person can accomplish so much simultaneously. I see Dr. Elovitz as having three professional lives: an association leader and journal editor, a prolific scholar, and a supportive and empowering mentor. I will address each “life” in turn.

Pioneer and Inspirational Leader in Psychohistory and Psychobiography

Paul has been an international leader in promoting and advancing psychohistory. He has been a central nexus in connecting psychohistory, psychobiography, psychoanalysis, and history both internationally and across generations. He has served with distinction in numerous leadership roles (too many to cite here), including as president of the International Psychohistorical Association, the founder and organizer of the Psychohistory Forum, and more recently, co-founder of the Psychobiography Research Group with colleagues Inna Rozentsvit from the U.S. and Claude-Hélène May-

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er from South Africa and Germany.

Further, Paul has made a major contribution by founding and developing Clio’s Psyche, which reaches its 30^th anniversary in 2024. Clio, a double-blind peer reviewed journal, presents a variety of topics and writing styles accessible to a wide professional and lay audience. In summary of his first life, Paul Elovitz is a professional and organizational leader as well as journal editor extraordinaire.

A Prolific Scholar in Psychohistory and Presidential Psychobiography

How one person can publish over 400 articles, chapters, and books (yes, I counted) while editing an active, popular journal and running all kinds of programs, seminars, and institutes is beyond my imagination. Paul has published over 330 articles in Clio’s Psyche and more than 60 articles in other journal outlets. Additionally, he has edited two highly respected books in psychohistory. Paul is an exceptional researcher and writer. He bridges history, biography, and psychoanalysis in his writing.

Furthermore, he has also written with deep authenticity about his own life, struggles, and insecurities. This kind of “vulnerable” self-expression is rare in the academic world. Paul’s humanism, existential reflections, flaws, and deep empathy rise in these publications. His writing about his own childhood, early family life, inner doubts and insecurities, and as a professional, his own struggles with countertransference, are riveting to read. Through his authentic voice, he has given me and others permission to be more human, vulnerable, transparent, flawed, and conflicted in our own autobiographical writing. Paul has modeled for us the essence of authenticity as a scholar and person as part of his second “life.”

Master Teacher, Mentor, Colleague, and Friend

I left my reflections on Paul’s third “life” for the end as it is, perhaps, the most important, and it transcends his leadership and scholarship roles in psychohistory. Paul was a founding faculty member at Ramapo College in New Jersey, beginning in 1971 and only recently retiring in 2022. He is a gifted professor who nourishes his students’ professional and personal development; they have deeply admired and respected him during his more than 50 years in the classroom. He was also an active mentor to Ramapo students, persuading several to become involved with Clio’s Psyche

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in some capacity.

Paul has been a mentor to me and many other scholars and students in multiple disciplines who have wished to learn and be more involved in psychohistory. For example, he invited me to contribute manuscripts to Clio, where I always receive constructive feedback from Paul and the review team. Further, Paul has been instrumental in connecting the newer generations of psychohistorians to pioneers in the field, and we have felt welcomed, embraced, and empowered by our senior scholars.

Amid all this, in recent years, Paul has also been the primary caregiver for his beloved wife, Geri, whose health has been declining. He is a natural caregiver for Geri, his children, and friends, as well as his colleagues and mentees in psychohistory. I have also encountered some difficult family caregiving issues in the past few years, and Paul has been supportive and empathic as we’ve discussed our mutual responsibilities. As busy as Paul always is, he even offered to set up biweekly or monthly phone calls for mutual support. I was very moved and touched by his kindness and the generosity of his heart and spirit.

Let me close this note of appreciation by saying that Paul H. Elovitz is a renaissance scholar and certainly one of the most influential psychohistorians of the last half-century. More than that, though, Paul is a warm, caring, funny (I forgot to mention the jokes, sayings, and comic strips he sends almost weekly to bring some humor and relief to our stressed and worried lives), empowering teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. I feel deeply honored to be able to contribute this brief reflection to Paul’s so well-deserved Festschrift.

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