Obituary for Daphne Elizabeth Bugental After a long and productive life, Daphne Bugental passed away from pneumonia on November 25, 2018. Daphne was born in Santa Barbara January 31, 1928. After graduating from Santa Barbara High School and a brief time living in Portland, Oregon, she moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, where she earned B.A. in 1952 and then her Ph.D. in social psychology in 1964.
She served as an adjunct professor at UCLA until returning to the Santa Barbara area in 1974 to join the faculty of UCSB. Her research encompassed human interactions of all kinds, focusing particularly on parent-child relationships. Daphne’s landmark scientific contributions led to significant reductions in child abuse.
While she formally retired in 2011, she continued to teach seminars and write research papers for several more years. In addition to her scientific and social contributions, Daphne served in many roles at UCSB, including Chair of the Psychology Department and Chair of numerous Academic Senate committees. Bringing together faculty across several departments, she founded the Interdisciplinary Human Development Emphasis.
She authored and obtained passage for the faculty parental leave policy for the entire University of California System. Daphne was honored with the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Kurt Lewin Award, the Santa Barbara County Health “Researcher of the Decade” in 1997, and the 1996 UC Presidential Award for fostering Excellence in Undergraduate Research. For these accomplishments and contributions, she earned the vast appreciation of her colleagues, students, and the UC community.
Daphne is survived by her sons Rick Bugental and Scott Williams Bugental, her daughters-in-law Leah-Ann Williams Bugental and Sandy Gibson Smith, and grandson Jacob Smith. She is predeceased by her brother Frank Blunt, sisters Kathleen Blunt and Grace Cooper, and son Michael Smith. A Celebration of Life for Daphne will be held at Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapel at 15 East Sola Street, Santa Barbara, on Saturday, December 8, starting at 10 a.m. Viewing will be at the Welch-Ryce-Haider Chapel in Goleta (450 Ward Drive) from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, December 7, and at the Santa Barbara location Saturday December 8, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Remembrances may be shared at www.
wrhsb.com/obituaries/Daphne-Bugental/. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations in Daphne’s name to CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation; calm4kids.org/ ) or to UNICEF (www. unicef.org/ ).
Previous Events Viewing , DEC 7. 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM Welch-Ryce-Haider – Goleta 450 Ward Drive Santa Barbara, CA, US, 93111 info@wrhsb.com www. wrhsb.com Viewing , DEC 8.
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Welch-Ryce-Haider – Downtown 15 E. Sola St. Santa Barbara, CA, US, 93101 info@wrhsb.com www. wrhsb.com Celebration of Life , DEC 8. 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Welch-Ryce-Haider – Downtown 15 E. Sola St. Santa Barbara, CA, US, 93101 info@wrhsb.com www.
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