Dr. Havis

Dr. Roland A. Havis - also known as Hero Havis -- beloved professor, blues poet, prison reformer, and community activist passed away on October 2, 2017 in Petersburg, VA ultimately surrendering to his battle with cancer. He was the youngest son of Celeste Ragan Havis, long-time teacher, and Ferdinand Havis, contractor, of Dumas, Arkansas. He earned his B.A. at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff (Arkansas A & M at the time) and his Masters in 1969 at Pittsburg State University. In 1976, he left the University of Missouri at Columbia A.B.D. after his dissertation and research were destroyed in a fire. With great effort and perseverance, he ultimately earned his Ph.D. in General Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999 with a dissertation entitled: Jungian Personality Types and Structures of Social Exchange. A Psychology and Sociology professor emeritus at Richard Bland College of the College of William and Mary, Havis (as he liked to be called) had a multifaceted and varied career that focused on social exchange theory and promoting continual human development both inside and outside the classroom. Deeply engaged with Jungian Psychology, Havis developed a number of innovative group therapy models that utilized his insights concerning Myers-Briggs personality types. Havis was staunchly committed to the concept of rehabilitation during a time when prison systems focused more on punishment. He implemented a novel group therapy process known as IMPACT at Angola, the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary during the 1980s. Havis served in the United States Air Force 1960-1964, taught high school science, and began his professional career in earnest as a psychology professor at Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, historically black colleges in Mississippi, where he taught during the 1970s. He often explained that he chose the posts to "give back" to his community. Havis, having been indelibly marked by his experiences growing up in the Jim Crow South, sought to bring Jungian concepts, Black psychology and social exchange theory to bear on the "Movement." His teaching reflected a desire to promote collective freedom and empowerment while simultaneously doing rigorous analysis. He also took this perspective into his mental health work where he served in various capacities including residential programs supervisor, school psychologist, and as a forensic psychologist in the Louisiana State Prison system. The last decades of his career brought Havis back into the classroom where his career had begun. Providing an account of Havis as only professor, sociologist, and psychologist obscures his longstanding engagement with the Blues and his numerous artistic endeavors. He was a frequent contributor to the college literary magazine. He composed numerous poems, short stories, and worked avidly on several unpublished, "blues symphonies." Publically a very reserved man, Havis had a profound but often unannounced impact on all the communities that he inhabited. Over the years, he mentored many students, aided the social re-integration of numerous formerly incarcerated persons, and worked with community groups to achieve such varied goals as voter registration, student rights, better institutional integration of personality types, and Tai Chi mindfulness. He had a robust spiritual life although he was only recently baptized on May 21, 2016. Havis readily took up service for the church conducting an elder ministry at the Ivy Ridge assisted living facility up until his death. Dr. Havis is survived by his loving wife Noel; his three children Desireé, Quintus, Devonya and son-in-law Ennis "E.J"; his grandchildren Asher, Simone, Nijahl, Aaden, and Camren; his sister Lois "Cookye"; numerous nieces and nephews; and his first wife Cynthia. A memorial service for Dr. Havis will be held October 14, 2017 starting at 11 a.m. at the Crater Road Chapel E. Alvin Smalls Funeral Home and Crematory 3935 S. Crater Road Petersburg, Virginia 23805. His family welcomes reflections and flowers for the service. Those who wish to make charitable contributions in his honor may designate them for Tougaloo College in Mississippi. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com

Service Information

Saturday, October 14th, 2017 11:00am