In Memoriam: Bernhard ‘Berni’ Leidner

Bernhard “Berni” Leidner, professor of social psychology at UMass Amherst, 39, resident of Amherst, was born in Bonn, Germany and died Nov. 19 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield due to complications from his lifelong disability.

Leidner was predeceased by his mother, Irmgard Leidner, of Germany. He is survived by his brother, Andreas Leidner and his wife Christiane, their sons Julian and Jakob, two nephews whom Leidner cherished, also of Germany. Leidner leaves many colleagues of UMass Amherst and many dear friends. He also leaves his caretaker and confidant, Christie Fournier, of six years.

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Leidner graduated from the Free University of Berlin in 2006 and earned his Ph.D. from the New School of Social Research (NSSR) in 2010.

Leidner devotedly taught at UMass Amherst for 11 years, achieving tenure in 2017 and promotion to full professor in 2022. He touched the lives of many colleagues, students and staff, and he was grateful for the ability to do what he loved for a living.

He carried out wide-ranging and multidisciplinary research on social identification processes, morality, peace, the role of collective trauma and narratives in the perpetuation of violent intergroup conflict, political polarization, science communication and public trust in science. Berni was a devoted mentor who cared deeply about his students and he will be deeply missed by family, friends and all who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in honor of his commitment to pluralism, open inquiry and viewpoint diversity be made to Donate - Heterodox Academy | Heterodox Academy at https://heterodoxacademy.org/donate/

Burial will be at the convenience of the family in Germany at a later date.

Memorial guestbook at www.douglassfuneral.com. Read an additional tribute on Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences website.