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Obituary: Sy Lieberman
Lieberman Research founder Seymour 'Sy' Lieberman, died on October 1, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
After receiving his undergraduate degree at Brooklyn College and his PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan, Lieberman started his career at the latter's Survey Research Center, where he served as Senior Study Director in the Human Relations Program and developed ways to measure employee morale, productivity, absenteeism, turnover, supervisory practices and union-management relations across a variety of industrial, governmental and voluntary institutions.
In 1956, Sy joined the Kenyon and Eckhardt (K&E) ad agency as Market Research Group Head, and began developing research approaches in communication and consumer behavior using public opinion research. He was later promoted to VP and Director of Research, and was appointed to the agency's Board of Directors and as a member of its Marketing Plans Board and Creative Review Board.
A decade later, Sy left K&E to set up Lieberman Research, conducting studies of public opinion, markets and communications. Over the years, he encouraged and supported employees to form their own independent branches of the company in Los Angeles and Great Neck, until his retirement from active involvement in 1993.
At this time, he formed The Epsilon Group; a market research organization providing consultation to law firms, and specializing in intellectual property issues.
He maintained a lifelong connection with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, establishing a fellowship and consulting on curriculum and other issues. He lectured on survey research methods at the University of Michigan, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, the Baruch School of the City University of New York, the University of California, and Fairleigh-Dickinson, among others.
Away from his market research commitments, Lieberman spent more than 30 years as a Research Consultant for the American Cancer Society, and also consulted for the American Lung Association, the President's Committee for Health Education, the United Jewish Appeal, the Presbyterian Church, the New York City Youth Board, and Major League Baseball.
He leaves behind wife Marilyn Watts Lieberman, sons Joshua and Mark, stepdaughter Fern Watts and five grandchildren. According to AAPOR, he is also being mourned by many of his former employees, colleagues and clients 'all of whom had the privilege to share Sy's warmth, creativity and mentoring nature which enriched their lives and careers'.
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