WJON — A professor that dedicated over 50 years to St. Cloud State University has passed away and his legacy will forever be ingrained on campus.
Gerald “Jerry” Mertens taught in the Psychology Department since 1965. St. Cloud State University’s Archives claim Mertens is the longest-serving faculty member in the school’s 150-year history.
Leslie Valdes is an Associate Professor of Psychology at SCSU. She had worked with Mertens for 25 years. She says she’ll always remember their in-depth discussions.
“He was a good story-teller, he and I would argue on occasion about the field of psychology. The way Jerry conceptualize psychology was very different from the way I conceptualize psychology. We had some really interesting discussions on our two worldviews on the discipline,” Valdes said.
