James B. Maas M.A. ’63 Ph.D. ’66, a social psychologist and Cornell professor who, over a half century, taught more than 65,000 Cornell students his Introductory Psychology course, died on June 23 in Charlevoix, Michigan at 86 years old.
Maas, who taught at Cornell from 1964 until 2011, was a well-known member of the Cornell community and a recipient of the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow Award. His lectures became so popular that they were moved to 1300 seat Bailey Hall to accommodate the hundreds of students enrolled in PSYCH 101, which is now known as PSYCH 1101. According to an open letter he penned to the Cornell community upon retiring, the University gave him “48 wonderful years.”
In an article previously published in The Sun, Kevin Keller '05, who took the class in the fall of 2001 praised how “entertaining” the course was.
"I definitely feel like I am at a show and not in class," Keller told The Sun.
Maas was best known for popularizing the term "power nap" and his work surrounding the importance of sleep. He authored a New York Times Business Best Seller book called Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance and worked as a producer on numerous documentaries about sleep.
Maas avidly explained the dangers of sleep deprivation. In a Cornell Chronicle article from 1998, he stated that the United States had become “a nation of walking zombies.” During his career he would advocate for later start times for schools across the country.
“At any given time, the American sleep debt totals nearly half a billion hours or close to two hours every night for the average American,” Maas told the Cornell Chronicle. “And just because you're lucky or smart enough not to incur sleep debt, that doesn't mean you're not affected.”
In 1995, Maas’ reputation took a hit when the College of Arts and Sciences faculty ethics committee found that he had behaved unprofessionally with four female students as he reportedly “kissed and hugged them” and purchased them gifts, according to The New York Times.
Maas later sued Cornell for $1.5 million, claiming that the ethics committee’s procedures violated his employment contract. While a New York State Court of Appeals ruled that the University had not violated the terms of his contract, Cornell did alter its procedures for dealing with sexual harassment complaints in 1996.
Maas, reflecting on his Cornell experience after announcing his retirement, emphasized how much he enjoyed teaching and being a part of the Cornell community.
“I have enjoyed every minute of teaching and working closely with an incredible group of students, advisees, course tutors, scholar athletes and alumni,” his open retirement letter read. “I will dearly miss Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10:10 a.m. in Bailey Hall, and so many other things that have occupied me at the university.”
Zeinab Faraj is the assistant sports editor on the 143rd editorial board and a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
