Professor Judson Mills, known commonly in the psychology department as “Jud,” died unexpectedly Thursday morning from an unknown heart-related problem. Mills was 77.

Mills began feeling sick on April 25, and went to the doctor three days later after complaining of shortness of breath and chest pain. Mills was diagnosed with a sudden case of pneumonia, and he died three days later on May 1.

Mills was in his 37th year at the university and was planning on working for a few more before retiring, said Arie Kruglanski, one of Mills’ colleagues.

His research focused on attitude change, communal relationships and experimental methodology. He co-wrote one book, Cognitive Dissonance: Progress on a Pivotal Theory in Social Psychology, and authored numerous scholarly articles.

Mills was a central member of the social psychology division of the psychology department, teaching a variety of upper-level classes on interpersonal relationships and communication, as well as the history and methodology of psychology.

He was also an acting member of the University Senate and the departmental liaison to the university for psychology, serving as the point of contact for the Institutional Review Board.

But beneath Mills’ dedication to academia was a quirky, funny and all-around nice guy, said graduate student Ryan Curtis, who worked closely with Mills in developing and defending his dissertation.

“He worked with me tirelessly on my master’s thesis,” Curtis said, “but it happened to be during the summer of the World Cup, so we had to schedule our meetings around the matches, since he wanted to watch every game.”

Along with his love of soccer, Mills enjoyed jazz music, always wore blue and deeply loved his mother, Curtis said. He had students call him Jud, and his office doors were always open.

Mills also excelled at badminton and played the sport for over 50 years. He and his wife were nationally ranked badminton players among their age group, Kruglanski said.

Kruglanski said that, along with his peculiarities, Mills was selfless when it came to his work with the university.

“He was always willing to take the time and help others, to provide feedback on his colleagues’ work, to show visitors around,” Kruglanski said. “He was really very generous and devoted to others.”

“He seemed a little crusty to many people at first, but if you were his student, he was on your side and worked tirelessly for you,” Curtis added. “I was never scared of defending my dissertation because I knew Jud would be in the room with me and would be on my side. Now that he won’t be there, I don’t know how to feel.”

Mills was born in Chicago in 1931. He discovered his interest in social psychology during his junior year at the University of Wisconsin, which led to him earning his doctorate from Stanford in 1958, according to his biography on the psychology department’s website.

Mills went on to teach at Syracuse University, the University of Missouri and the London School of Economics

Mills is survived by his wife, Lilly, and his son, Ridgeway.

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