Rowell Huesmann, Research Professor Emeritus, Research Center for Group Dynamics, passed away on December 21, 2025. Rowell’s research on the psychological effects of violence shaped policy and understanding of media violence, gun safety, and youth development.

Rowell earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and a Master’s and Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University. After an early career at Yale University and the University of Illinois, Chicago, he returned to the University of Michigan. As a professor of communication and psychology, and a researcher at ISR, Rowell studied how exposure to violence impacts behavior across the lifespan. He served as the director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics from 2006 to 2012. His longitudinal studies, including a landmark investigation into youth in Flint, provided vital insights into the long-term consequences of early exposure to violence. His research demonstrated the links between such exposure and later tendencies toward weapon carrying, gun use, and arrests for weapons-related crimes.

Over the years, Rowell’s work had a profound influence on research and policy concerning aggression and violence. He testified before the Federal Commission on School Safety and played a pivotal role in the international community, serving as editor and president of the International Society for Research on Aggression. He authored more than 100 scientific articles and books, including Growing Up to Be Violent (1977), Television and the Aggressive Child (1986), and Aggressive Behavior (1994).

Rowell’s wife, Alice Lynn “Penny” Graham Huesmann, passed away on November 21, 2025. You can read a joint obituary in the University Record.