Lewis Bonney, PhD

Professor Emeritus, Department of School Counseling and School Psychology

Lewis Bonney applied psychology in multiple venues, including military, corporate, school, forensic, consulting, and religious.

Following an undergraduate degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley (1962), he earned a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas (1964). The Department of Defense appointed him as a Clinical Psychologist in the US Navy and assigned him to the Pearl Harbor Mental Health Outpatient Clinic (1964-1967). In the Navy, he provided clinical services for active-duty personnel and dependents, as well as appraisal of psychological risk factors in Navy and Marine Corps personnel pending deployment to unusually high-risk assignments.

While pursuing a PhD in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona (1968-1970), he won a U.S. Department of Education research grant to test the portability of cognitive skills, replicating his dissertation project.

The research led to an appointment as assistant to the superintendent for Program Management and Development in a large urban school district, San Bernardino City Unified School District (1970-1977). He worked with 42 school principals in demonstrating student outcomes and was administratively responsible for special education, information processing, and adult education.

He was later self-employed as a consultant to ten California County governments assessing the effectiveness of mental health programs (1977-1988), concurrently serving as an expert witness in child custody litigation (1977-1999), and beginning a practice in appraising psychological risk factors in aspirants for careers in ministry.

In 2000, he landed at Azusa Pacific University with an appointment as a professor in the School of Education. At Azusa Pacific, he taught assessment and research courses and co-led representatives from six different academic disciplines in providing Clergy Care Day, an outreach to local clergy in the areas of business, physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. For seven years, he chaired the Institutional Review Board charged with ethical review of social-science research projects. His research interests were in tacit knowledge for leadership and mindfulness for school leaders, leading to publications and presentations at national and international forums.

In 2024, he retired from APU to continue his part-time work appraising psychological risk factors in aspirants for ministry careers.

Lewis maintained a commitment to fitness and volunteer service, practicing recreational walking, cycling, swimming, and mediation. He served in volunteer leadership positions at the parish, commission and diocesan level in the Episcopal Church. All the while, he enjoyed marriage and special times with three children and seven grandchildren.

Education

PhD, Educational Psychology, University of Arizona
MA, Clinical Psychology, University of North Texas
BA, Psychology, University of California, Berkeley

Credentials/Certifications

Licensed Psychologist, California Board of Psychology

Academic Area

School of Education

Expertise

California Council for Teacher Credentialing
California Board of Psychology Pupil Personnel Services Credential

Courses Taught

EDCO 592 – Foundations and Ethics in Research
EDPY 636 – Research and Evaluation in School Psychology
EDPY 683 – Psychoeducational Assessment III
EDPY 690 – Advanced Individual Research