Provost Peggy Agouris sent the following message to the campus community on April 21, 2025. – Ed.

Dear colleagues,  

I write to share that Dr. Joseph Galano, Professor Emeritus, Psychological Sciences, passed away on March 4, 2025, following an 18-year battle with Huntington’s Disease. Professor Galano, “Dr. G.,” was admired by all who worked with him. William & Mary was fortunate to have him as a vital member of the Department of Psychological Sciences for 33 years, serving as its chair for 3 years. His commitment to community health and prevention will live on in the department, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and beyond. 

Prof. Galano received his B.S. from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY, and M.S. from New Mexico Highlands University. He earned his Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in 1977. He completed his Clinical Psychology internship at Rutgers University Medical School in 1976. He came to William & Mary in 1977 where he remained until his retirement in 2010. Upon his retirement, the department established the Joseph Galano Fund for Community Service that recognizes and supports students who have engaged in exceptional efforts to promote community well-being through their service and experience both in and out of the classroom. 

Prof. Galano’s teaching philosophy centered on teaching students through their active involvement in community-based problems. He was at the forefront of service-based learning at W&M. Students who took his classes or were supervised by Prof. Galano in research and community settings described him as dedicated, enthusiastic, and life-changing as an instructor and mentor. To show their appreciation, the senior class of 2010 selected him as an Honorary Marshall for commencement. Prof. Galano taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Prevention and Community Psychology at William & Mary for 33 years. He was proud of the work he did to bring W&M into the community and the community into W&M, placing students in internships with local social service organizations where they could see prevention psychology in action.  

Prof. Galano’s research centered on illness prevention and health promotion in the community. His philosophy is summed up by t-shirts he made when he hosted Virginia’s first international prevention conference: “Research without Action is like Riding a Tandem Alone,” and “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure,” and “Intellectuals Solve Problems; Geniuses Prevent Them.” His work with Healthy Families America and Healthy Families Virginia helped to identify and mitigate the factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect. He was appointed to the Healthy Families America Research, Practice and Policy Council (RPPC), the purpose of which was to advance the Healthy Families model through home visiting research and to improve the utility of research findings in the field. 

Prof. Galano collaborated with local, state and national prevention organizations, including the James City County Community Action Agency, Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, Healthy Families America and Healthy Families Virginia, Project LINK (a perinatal substance abuse prevention program), and Square One, a 17-locality partnership recognized by the Annie E Casey Foundation for its work to ensure that children in Hampton Roads enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn. He worked with Congressman Bobby Scott on violence prevention strategies. The work Prof. Galano and others did for the Hampton Healthy Start program was featured in a documentary film released in 1997 called I Am Your Child, directed by Rob Reiner, starring Tom Hanks with cameo appearances by Bill and Hillary Clinton. 

He received numerous awards for his teaching, research and service to the community. The year of his retirement, he was awarded the Graves Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was honored for his service to Virginia and appointed to a national advisory committee dedicated to the prevention of child abuse. He was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award by two governors. The American Psychological Association honored Joe with the Distinguished Contribution to Practice award and he, alongside his long-term collaborator Lee Huntington, were named Healthy Families Virginia Champions. 

April is nationally recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, a cause that was dear to Prof. Galano. Every April, Prof. Galano and his students planted a garden with blue and silver pinwheels – the national symbol to remind us that every child deserves a happy childhood. The department continues to honor his tradition with a pinwheel garden outside the ISC. His colleagues in the department will miss him and are honored to have worked beside him for many years. 

Best,
Peggy