Leo Mármol, chair and professor of Graduate Psychology, had knee-replacement surgery this year. But he’s still standing, ready to walk out through his office door one last time and bid farwell to Seattle Pacific University.

Mármol’s work in SPU’s School of Psychology, Family and Community contributed to the School’s efforts to gain accreditation by the American Psychological Association. He taught health and neuropsychological assessment, forensic psychology, multicultural aspects of psychology, diversity issues in clinical psychology, and ethics and law.

He brought a wealth of experience to his work. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Instituto de Segunda Ensenanza in Cuba, Mármol went on to gain a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and then a Master’s degree from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California; a B.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary; and a Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology at San Francisco/Berkeley. He arrived at SPU in 2001.

In 2002, he was honored with induction into the American Board of Professional Psychology, and his work has been published in journals and books including the chapter on ethics in Handbook of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Jay Skidmore, stepping in as the new department chair, says, “Dr. Mármol led the recent transitions in our Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, helping us aim towards national standards of doctoral scholarship.” His influence will remain one of the program’s distinguishing factors for many years to come.

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A Few Words with Dr. Leo Mármol

Graduate Review: Looking back at your time at SPU since 2001, what has been memorable and rewarding about the experience of teaching here?

Mármol: There are many examples of each. Most rewarding for me has been working with a dynamite faculty of highly qualified psychologists who are devoted to using their professional skills as a ministry in service to the Lord.

Next was the accomplishment of re-writing the curriculum for the Ph.D. degree in a way that made sense and was accreditable. I was able to make a number of changes in the program that have resulted in attracting a higher quality of student to it, and giving us a more national recognition. Before I came, more than 90% of our students were local Western Washington residents. We now have students from many other states who move here specifically because of our program.

GR: Now that you are moving on, what are your aspirations?

Mármol: My wife, Carolyn, and I are moving back to Southern California sometime this summer. We plan to do some traveling that we were unable to do during the school year.

I will most likely do some adjunct teaching in one of the professional schools in the area where I have relationships, as well as serving in my home church, the Hispanic Presbyterian Church in Claremont. I may even put on paper the mystery novel that has been rattling in my brain for many years.

GR: Someone recently commented that you are “as much a romantic poet as a psychologist.” Can you shed some light on this observation?

Mármol: Wow! I wonder who said that. Well, in my youth I did write a lot of poetry. It is very easy to write poetry in Spanish, because, as a phonemic language all the vowels are pronounced and syllables can be metricized consistently across established rules. But since living in the U.S. and conducting most of my life in English, Polyhymnia, Euterpe and Erato have deserted me.

I guess that I give that impression because I am always looking for what is behind the obvious presentation of things, “searching for the purple fish.” There is a Greek word that captures what I mean. It is kalchaino, which means to search for the purple fish. Purple fish was a highly priced animal for the Greeks for its rich purple dye. Divers had to go to the bottom of the sea in search of this elusive fish. Therefore “searching for the purple fish” means plumbing the depths of one’s own mind.

As I approach my so-called “golden years,” I hope that I can reflect on my life and feel a sense of approaching what C.G. Jung has called individuation. With a sense of integrity, I hope to continue to be of service to others in the name of my Lord for a few more years.