Douglas R. Bey, Jr. ’56
Pioneer Hall of Fame Award
Dr. Douglas R. Bey Jr. ’56 captained University High School’s 1956 wrestling team. He was the first wrestler from Bloomington-Normal to go to the State Tournament. After U-High, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell College followed by his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois. He then completed his internship and residency at the Illinois Masonic Hospital and the Menninger School of Psychiatry, respectively.
In 1968, Bey completed his civilian medical training and entered officers’ training as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In 1969, he was deployed to Vietnam and with the rank of major, assumed duties as the division psychiatrist for the 1st Infantry Division. Bey received many military awards for his service.
After his return to the States in 1970, Bey wrote more than fifteen papers, publications or presentations about his working experiences with soldiers in Vietnam and their experiences after returning home. His writing focused on the problems and stresses veterans encountered and coping mechanisms they and their families employed. In some instances, Bey’s writings were published in British and German journals.
Bey became board certified in psychiatry in 1971 by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Twenty years later, he was board certified by the same Board in geriatric psychiatry. He has served his profession well by taking on the national responsibilities of being a board examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology from 1971-1995. For his contributions to the field of psychiatry, Bey was successively named a Fellow (1973), Life Fellow (2001), and Distinguished Life Fellow (2003) of the American Psychiatric Association.
Bey has written a book about his experience as a division psychiatrist in the military and has also contributed to the multi-volume History of Psychiatry in Vietnam. He and his wife, Debbie, wrote Loving an Adult Child of an Alcoholic, which was published in May, 2007. He is currently in the process of writing his memoirs, which include forty years as a practicing psychiatrist.
Concurrent with his writing, Bey returned to Normal to start his own practice. He has been on staff at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center (Bloomington), BroMenn Regional Health Center (Bloomington), and OSF St. James Hospital (Pontiac). At BroMenn, Bey served on and chaired many medical committees. During his time at BroMenn, Bey also developed the inpatient psychiatric program and trained the psychiatric staff. He was also chief of the psychiatric department for several years.
For the last several years Bey has limited himself to outpatient work at his office, which is located at One Normal Plaza – the site of the old Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Children’s School. He has been active locally as a former president or chairman of the McLean County Medical Society, the McLean County Board of Health, BroMenn Medical Staff, and the Illinois State Medical Society’s Counsel on Mental Health and Addiction. He continues to write and speak at local, state, and national levels.
Congratulations to Dr. Douglas Bey Jr. on his 2007 induction into the University High School Pioneer Hall of Fame!