BERKELEY, CA, December 03, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Dean Pickard, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Pickard celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
With more than 40 years of experience in education to his credit, Dr. Pickard has become an authority in his industry. Though retired, Dr. Pickard continues to maintain an academic presence at https://csun.academia.edu/DeanPickard and www.deanpickard.com.
In 1973, Dr. Pickard earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, history and psychology, cum laude, from the University of California Riverside where he was selected as a Marius DeBrabant and Henry Carter Scholar. He later continued his studies, earning a Master of Arts in philosophy from California State University, Long Beach, in 1977, where he was nominated to the Graduate Dean's List. He then completed coursework at a variety of foreign and domestic universities and institutes in graduate psychology, Asian Studies and German. In 1992, he earned a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University where he was awarded several fellowships.
As a professional educator, Dr. Pickard taught at Santa Monica College (philosophy 2006-2016), California State University, Northridge (philosophy 1989-2009), Los Angles Pierce and Mission Colleges (philosophy, humanities and physical education, 1978-2009), Moorpark and Ventura Colleges (philosophy and physical education 1976-84) and at Pomona College (1975-82 physical education).
Before becoming a serious university student, Dr. Pickard was a professional guitarist for eight years. After starting his university studies, he supported himself and his family this way until his achievements in university study brought him full financial support from scholarships, fellowships and grants.
During his career, Dr. Pickard was selected for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, a Liberty Fund grant and was selected five times for Who's Who Among America's Teachers by the top 5% of American students. He gave public presentations at universities abroad and in the U.S. and in public forums, such as radio talk shows. He served as a member on many academic committees and councils, and was on the board of directors for the Los Angeles Area Nietzsche Society, which hosted presentations at various venues such as the UCLA Philosophy Department. Dr. Pickard also served several years as the director of the Pacific Cultural Arts Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization which promoted the humanities and charity work. Dr. Pickard has been a long-time member of the American Philosophical Association and the North American Nietzsche Society.
Dr. Pickard has published articles, reviews and books on philosophy. These include a review of Alexander Nehamas's The Art of Living, (New Nietzsche Studies, (SUNY), Spring, 2000); "Nietzsche Vs. Habermas: Emancipation, Truth, and Ethics," (New Nietzsche Studies, (SUNY),Winter,1997); Nietzsche, Transformation and Postmodernity (UMI, 1992), "The Problem of Reflexivity in Habermasian Universalism," (Auslegung, V. 19, #1, Winter, 1993); Logic, Truth and Reasoning: A Textbook in Critical Thinking, (PCAF Publications, 1997, 2009), "Frege's Concept of the Thought," (PCAF Publications, 1992): "The Idolatry of Doctrine versus Genuine Ethics." (PCAF Publications, 2010) and "Mystical Experience and Ontological Claims," (Journal of LACCD, June 1982). In addition, he has been an invited speaker at various conferences, where he has given presentations on both philosophy and martial arts.
In addition to his primary academic roles, Dr. Pickard is a fifth-degree black belt who founded the United States Karate League, serving as its chief instructor from 1970 to 2004. Dr. Pickard has published writings on martial arts, including an article for Black Belt Magazine titled "Achieving the Artless Art," (1979), an article published by USKL titled "Philosophy, Spirit and the Martial Arts," (1984) and "The Dao of Martial Arts," (2016).
When asked "What factors or attributes do you feel have played a role in your success," Dr. Pickard answered "I have a multifaceted personality and diverse abilities and interests. I was a top athlete when young, physically disciplined, curious, and sensitive. I inwardly questioned authority but felt the need to work hard to carry out fair criticism of other points of view." Dr. Pickard says the combination of these traits and abilities and his parents' influence led him to seriously pursue learning in his late teens and twenties.
His mother hailed from New Zealand and was artistic and well-read despite having little schooling. His American father, who grew up in the Great Depression, also initially had little schooling, but high intelligence. After serving in the U.S. Marines from 1939 to 1952, his father earned a high school equivalency certificate to enter university and then completed a bachelor's degree and some work toward a master's before being called back into service during the Korean War. Dr. Pickard attended six different high schools, all in different states and briefly, one in New Zealand. He had no siblings and each new school was a change of environment which taught him how to adapt and gave him a considerable advantage in developing a broader perspective.
Dr. Pickard believes teaching is a calling that arises from passion for learning and for sharing this with others. Only a teacher who is caught in this throe of wonder can provide the best environment for students. This can more readily elicit their own passion for discovery, wisdom and self-overcoming. Dr. Pickard saw students as "fellow travelers" faced with the same basic challenges and rewards of life. He was thrilled to share with them the best insights the humanities and sciences can provide as well as what his own diverse and practical experience had given him. Modern institutions of education are based on a corporate business model. So, it essential that individual teachers breathe powerful life into that structure.
The word education, comes from Latin "educare," and literally means to educe or bring forth. In Goethe's and Humboldt's sense of Bildung or "formation of self" it means the process of enquiry, discovery, and self-overcoming in which the critical, creative, and affective potential of human beings is brought forth. It is a "spiritual" development of the whole person, not merely an intellectual process or preparation for a profession. Dr. Pickard would like to be remembered by his students as a turning point in their lives or a great enhancement of the path they were already on, and that he, in the most deeply human sense of education, elicited in them a sense of wonder and facilitated their Bildungs-process.
In 2005 after retirement from full-time teaching, Dr. Pickard started Pickard Investments, a real estate investment and development company (www.pickardinvestments.com). His company has owned or developed properties in Panama, New Zealand, California, Oregon, Colorado, Ohio and Florida.
Upon Dr. Pickard's semi-retirement from business in 2014, he began to pursue his interest in China, visiting the country frequently. Presently, he splits his time between China and the United States, additionally traveling the world for three to four months out of the year. Dr. Pickard is the proud father of two sons, Justin Matthew and Christopher Dean.
As a testament to his success and esteem, Dr. Pickard has been featured in multiple editions of Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the West and Who's Who in America.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Dr. Pickard has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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