Remembering Edward L. Deci

(1942-2026)

Monhegan Museum of Art & History honors the extraordinary life and legacy of our long-time President and Director, Edward L. Deci (1942–2026)

Edward L. Deci, 83, of Rochester, New York and Monhegan Island, Maine, died peacefully with loved ones by his side in his Rochester home on February 14, 2026. A celebration of life will be held in Rochester this winter with a service on Monhegan to follow in August of 2026.

Born on October 14, 1942, Ed graduated from Hamilton College with a major in Mathematics in 1964. He went on to study at University of London, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before being awarded his PhD in Social Psychology from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1970 and serving as a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University from 1973-74. Ed spent over fifty years as faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester, ultimately becoming the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences before retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2017.

In his mainland life, Dr. Deci was best known as the co-founder, with Richard M. Ryan, of Self-Determination Theory, one of the most influential frameworks in modern psychology. At a time when behaviorist approaches dominated the field—emphasizing rewards and punishments as the primary drivers of behavior—Dr. Deci helped advance a different view: that human beings are naturally inclined toward curiosity, growth, and connection, and that they flourish when supported in their autonomy, competence, and relationships.

Over the course of his career, he authored hundreds of publications and several influential books, including Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior (1985) and Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness (2017).

Beyond his scholarly contributions, Dr. Deci was widely known as a generous mentor, advisor, and friend. His influence is reflected not only in the reach of his ideas, but in the many scholars, clinicians, educators, and practitioners whose work—and lives—were shaped by his guidance. Colleagues and former students often described him as deeply thoughtful, principled, and quietly committed to helping others think clearly and act with integrity.

On Monhegan, Ed was known for his appreciation of art, his generous support of community causes, and his love of the Monhegan Museum of Art & History.

“It has been a great privilege to work alongside, and be mentored by, Ed for these past 25 years, and to witness how our museum has flourished under his steady, even guidance and confidence in what we could accomplish. He cultivated an environment where we all wanted to do more, to continue to improve, and to share the stories of Monhegan. I am honored to continue his work and to steward the institution, and the superb collection that he has built here”

Jenn Pye, Monhegan Museum Director

“Ed’s luminous love for Monhegan Island and the Monhegan Museum inspired artists, visitors, collectors, scholars, and our island community across five decades. The scope of his vision, coupled with his charm, led so many of us to commit our time, give funds, or part with cherished works of art and family history, to do our part to keep the island’s vibrant culture alive.”

Adam Blumenthal

Monhegan Museum President

Ed first visited Monhegan in 1973, and was immediately enchanted by the island, its natural beauty, and the community that he joined there. He returned for nearly fifty summers, formed deep friendships, and became fascinated with the island’s history as an art colony and its ongoing role in American art. In 1983, Ed became a trustee of the Monhegan Associates, the island’s land trust, which at the time owned the Monhegan Museum; he was instrumental in transforming the Museum from a branch of the island land trust to an independent nonprofit organization, the Monhegan Museum of Art & History. Ed served as both Director and President of the Museum for more than thirty-five years; his vision and devotion transformed both the museum and the community it serves.

In a 2019 interview, Ed said of his initial commitment to the Museum: “One of the things I understood is that if you are going to be a part of a community, you have to accept responsibility for doing something for that community to help it survive and thrive.”

“Ed has been a dear friend, advisor, and mentor to my husband Steve and me for the past thirteen years as we became more serious collectors of Monhegan art. Steve and Ed were always on the hunt, together and separately, exchanging stories, confirming the locales or the individuals depicted, and identifying works the Museum might eventually want as gifts. Visiting Ed in his Rochester and Monhegan homes was always a treat as he regaled us with stories of his own collecting journey — with his art hung floor to ceiling on every wall, including the bathrooms! We enjoyed many a dinner together talking art, artists, Monhegan stories, and, of course, his — and our — beloved museum atop Lighthouse Hill, his usual rum and coke in a screw-top jar near at hand! What a legacy Ed has left in the Monhegan Museum of Art & History! We were blessed to know him.”

Susan Bateson

Monhegan Museum Vice President

Under his leadership the Museum grew from a few rooms of exhibits in the historic Monhegan Light Station to a well-respected regional museum with a nationally significant art collection that includes many of the major names in the history of American art. For that astonishing collection, itself in no small part the legacy of Ed’s advocacy and relationship-building across the decades, he spearheaded a new climate-controlled gallery and storage spaces worthy of the ambitious collections and exhibitions he envisioned. He wrote extensively about the art of Monhegan Island and curated numerous exhibitions highlighting individual artists and movements throughout the history of this remote artistic outpost.

Early in his tenure at the Museum, Ed held talks at the Monhegan Schoolhouse to raise awareness of, and enthusiasm about the importance of the art colony that had existed on the island since the 1850s; for these talks he brought artworks from the Museum and placed them one by one on an easel on the school stage and shared the stories of the works, and the artists who created them. He enjoyed serving as auctioneer for fundraisers benefitting a variety of island causes, driving the bidders to go ever higher, with reminders that the funds raised were going to a good cause. He also enjoyed being on the other side of the auctioneer’s podium and took great pleasure in paying astronomical sums to acquire a pie or cake at the annual Monhegan Church auction to bring as his contribution to a dinner party. Into his eighties, Ed could be seen on summer afternoons, striding up Monhegan’s Lighthouse Hill to the Museum, bringing a new visitor or gift for the collection.

Ed is survived by his sister Shirley Jensen, brother Charles Deci, Jr., their children and grandchildren, and by a global community of colleagues, students, and friends. His passing is being felt across disciplines and continents, by those who knew him personally and by many more whose lives were shaped, directly or indirectly, by his ideas.

Ed’s legacy remains visible in every artwork on our walls and in the very spirit of the institution he helped build. He will be deeply missed by the all of us at the Museum and his many friends on Monhegan.