Frank J. Minor, Ph.D.
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
CEO, Chairman, Career Dimensions, Inc.
Founder, Career Dimensions, Inc. (1990)
Career Dimensions Missions and System Services
Career Dimensions, Inc. was founded by Dr. Frank J. Minor in 1990. The mission of Career Dimensions is to develop and provide students in colleges, universities and high schools with computer assisted career and education planning services. Ongoing research is conducted in support of this mission.
Our Computer Based Systems
Our systems are designed to enable students and adults in career transition to explore and make decisions and plans about their career path and education goals based on their personal attributes and strengths. This means their choices and plans will be compatible with their interests, values, abilities and personality. Our systems also enable them to search for colleges that can provide the major areas of study they wish to pursue and also support their goals. Summary reports are produced for the individual users and their guidance counselors or advisors.
Three systems are available for to our customers. They are FOCUS 2 Career for students in College and Universities, FOCUS 2 APPLY for prospective students and and FOCUS 2 EXPLORE for high school students and adults in career transition.
FOCUS 2 CAREER is designed for use by students applying to or who are enrolled in 2-year and 4-year Colleges and universities. FOCUS 2 CAREER and FOCUS 2 APPLY are online programs that are available for leasing by colleges Career Service Centers, Admissions Centers, Academic Advising Centers, Freshman First Year Experience Programs and Alumni Associations.
FOCUS 2 EXPLORE is designed for use by high school students (grades 7-12), teenagers enrolled in vocational development programs, and adults in career transition. FOCUS 2 EXPLORE is an online program that is leased to high schools, government agencies and private organizations that provide career and educational planning services.
Origin of Career Dimensions
Career Dimensions is a byproduct of an IBM project created and directed by Dr. Frank Minor. In 1967, Dr. Frank J. Minor initiated and launched a project to develop one of the very first computer assisted career and education exploration and planning systems. Dr. Minor organized and led a team of nationally prominent psychologists, consisting of Professors Donald E. Super and Roger A. Myers of Columbia University Teachers College and Professor David V. Tiedeman of Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
The project resulted in the development of the IBM Education and Career Exploration system (ECES). ECES was pilot tested in high schools and thoroughly evaluated in numerous research projects. The evaluation results were very favorable and were widely published in professional journals and textbooks authored by Dr. Frank J. Minor, his team members, and independent researchers. The research results were also presented at professional association conferences and workshops sponsored by the American Psychological Association, National Career Development Association, International Association of Applied Psychology, and the British Psychological Society.
Education: University Degrees Fellowships
University Degrees
B.S., Business Administration, Rutgers University
Ph.D, M.A., Industrial/Organizational Psychology & Statistics, The Ohio State University
University Fellowships: Ohio State University William Green Fellowship Positions
Laboratory of Aviation Psychology: Conducted research to evaluate US Airforce aircraft flight controls and displays. Research required US Air Force pilots to perform maneuvers using flight simulators under computer control.
Research Board: Conducted research to investigate team building dynamics. Evaluated team decision making and productivity performing under different conditions of resource allocations.
IBM Positions Held by Dr. Frank J. Minor
IBM Global Headquarters, Senior Psychologist
IBM Corporation Management Positions (Retired 1987)
IBM Corporation Manager, Human Factors & Engineering Research
IBM USA Systems Development Director, Career & Education Information
IBM Europe Coordinator, Human Resources Information Systems
IBM HQ Senior Psychologist
IBM Field Research Projects
Mayo Clinic: Medical, Patient Self-Description of symptoms
US Air Force: Military Intelligence: Message construction
United Nations HQ, Geneva: Human Resource data bases design
Boeing Aircraft: Data capture in aircraft manufacturing
Bell Telephone Laboratories: Recorded Speech Intelligibility
Science Research Associates: Computer assisted educational curriculum
Columbia University, Teachers College: Career and education exploration and planning
IBM San Jose Laboratories: Technical trouble shooting diagnostic methods
IBM HRM Research: Employee performance appraisal methods & employee relocation mobility
General Motors Mott Foundation & Genesee County, MI Schools: Computer assisted career services
Awards Granted to Dr. Frank J. Minor
Belgium Honorary Achievement Award
The Belgian Honorary Achievement award was presented to Dr. Frank J. Minor and Dr. Donald E. Super at the University of Mons, Belgium in recognition of their achievements and innovations in the fields of Psychology and Education.
IBM Awards
Dr. Frank J. Minor received an IBM award in recognition of outstanding achievement for the development and launching of The IBM Employee Development Planning System (EDPS) in support of Human Resource Management Programs. EDPS is an interactive computer based system enabling employees to self-initiate an exploration of occupational and educational options that are compatible with their experience and aspirations. Research showed that EDPS increased employee participation in education and training programs that enhanced their professional development and increased their ability to adapt to an organization’s changing business needs.
Dr. Minor received an IBM award for the development of the IBM Education & Career Exploration System. (ECES). ECES was a pioneering system that enabled students in high school to explore and make decisions and plans about their career and future education based on their personal qualities. ECES was one of the very first systems developed and used in the field of career development planning. The ECES model has been adopted for use throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe.
University and College Professor Positions
University & College Professor Positions
Upon retirement from IBM, Dr. Frank J. Minor accepted a professorship position with Saint Anselm College and became a fully tenured Associate Professor in the Economics and Business Administration department. Prior to his retirement from IBM, Frank Minor concurrently held Adjunct Associate Professor positions in the Columbia University Teachers College Graduate School and the Graduate School of Business at Pace University. Dr. Minor taught courses in Organizational Behavior, Statistics, and Human Resource Management.
Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH,
Tenured Associate Professor (Retired),
Economics & Business Department.
Columbia University Teachers College, NYC, NY,
Adjunct Associate Professor
Graduate School of Psychology & Education
Pace University, White Plains, NY,
Adjunct Associate Professor,
Graduate School of Business
Professional Affiliations
Rutgers University Alumni
Ohio State University Graduate School Alumni
American Psychological Association
National Career Development Association
National Association of Colleges and Employers
Society for Human Resource Management
Community and Social Services
Saint Anselm College, Melia Community Services Center
Since 2009, Dr. Frank J. Minor had partnered with Saint Anselm College, Melia Community Services Center. Dr. Minor provided Saint Anselm College with the Career Dimensions MCP Career and Education Planning system (currently known as FOCUS 2 EXPLORE) to support the college’s community youth development programs. The Saint Anselm College Melia Center Director, Dan Forbes, provides the MCP/FOCUS 2 services to refugees enrolled in New Hampshire high schools and teenagers in juvenile detention centers. Dr. Frank J. Minor analyzed how the refugees and juvenile offenders used the MCP system in order to identify ways to improve their career and education exploration and planning activities while using the MCP system. The MCP computer based system enables the users to self-assess their career related interests, values, skills and abilities and personality type. The system then guides the users through a process of discovering and exploring occupations and education programs that are compatible with their assessment results. MCP helps users to make decisions about career path preferences, and search for colleges or training institutes that can provide the training needs to achieve their goals. Frank Minor and the Melia Director, Dan Forbes, have jointly presented the results of their joint effort and advantages of MCP to the Annual conference sponsored by the National Association of Career Development, the National Institutes of Corrections, and the New England Workforce Development Association.
Professional Publications & Speeches
by Dr. Frank J. Minor
Publications in Professional Journals & Textbooks
Minor, F. J., (1991). Field evaluation of a computer-based career planning system. Journal of Career Development, 18, 111-122.
Minor, F. J., (1986) Computer-Applications in Career Development Planning. In D.T. Hall (Ed.) Career Development in Organizations. Jossey-Bass Publications, San Francisco.
Minor, F. J., Myers, R. A., & Super, D. E. (1969). An experimental computer based educational and career exploration system. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 47, 564-569.
Minor, F. J., (1970). An experimental Educational & Career Exploration System. In D. E. Super (Ed.), Computer Assisted Counseling. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
Minor, F. J., Slade, L. & Myers, R. A. (1991) Career Transitions in Changing Times. In Morrison, R. F. & Adams, J (Eds) Contemporary Career Development Issues. (109-120) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Hillsdale, NJ
Minor, F. J., & Slade, L., (1991) Managing Employee Career Transitions. In Jones, J.W., Steffy, B.D. & Bray, D. W. (Eds) Applying Psychology in Business (pp 423-429) Lexington Books Publisher, Lexington, MA
Minor, F. J., Myers, R. A., & Super, D. E. (1969). An experimental computer based educational and career exploration system. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 47, 564-569.
Super, D. E. & Minor, F. J. (1987) Career Development Planning in Organizations. In B. Bass & P. Drenth (Eds.), Advances in Organizational Psychology, International Review (pp 83-98) Sage Press, Beverly Hills, CA
Minor, F.J. (1958) The prediction of turnover of clerical employees, Personnel Psychology, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp 393–402
Minor, Frank J., Revesman, Stanley L (1961) Experimental evaluation of binary codes for console display. Journal of Applied Psychology; Dec 61, Vol. 45 Issue 6, pp 381-386
Minor, Frank J.; Revesman, Stanley L., (1962.) Evaluation of input devices for a data setting task. Journal of Applied Psychology vol. 46 issue 5 October pp 332-336
Miller, Irwin; Minor, Frank J. (1963) Influence of multiple-choice answer form design on answer-marking performance. Journal of Applied Psychology vol. 47 issue 6 December 1963 pp. 374-379
Pepinsky, H., Pepinsky, P. N. , Minor, F. J., Revesman, S.R. (1959) Team productivity and contradiction of management policy commitments. Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 43, issue 4 (August 1959), pp. 264-268
Invited Speeches at Professional Conferences
Minor, F. J. (1967) Design Features & Research Results of the Use of a Computer-based Career Planning System. Key Note speech, Ontario School Counselors National Conference, Toronto, Canada
Minor, F. J. (1973) Evaluation Results of a Computer Based Career Exploration System in High Schools in the USA. Paper presented at International Association of Applied Psychology Annual Conference, Brussels, Belgium
Minor, F. J. (1990) Effectiveness of a Computer-Based Career Explorations System. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Saint Louis, MO.
Minor, F. J., & Myers, R. A. (1986). Computer Applications to Support Employee Development Planning. Workshop and Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, New York City, NY.
Myers, R. A., & Minor, F. J. (1970) Design & Development of a Computer-based Career & Education Exploration System. Paper presented at the International Teleconference on Technology and Career Development Planning, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
Myers, R. A., & Minor, F. J. (1985) Field Evaluation of a Computer-Based System for Employee Development Planning. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society, University of Warwick, Warwick, United Kingdom.
Super, D. E., & Minor, F. J. (1969) An experimental computer-based educational and career exploration system (ECES). Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Vocational Guidance Association, New Orleans, LA.
Super, D. E. & Minor, F. J. (1969) Using Computers in Career Guidance in Secondary Schools in the USA. Paper presented at International Association of Applied Psychology Annual Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Super, D. E. & Minor, F. J. (1970) Computer Applications in Career Guidance. Talk given to the Executive Committee, International Association of Applied Psychology Geneva Switzerland
Super, D. E. & Minor, F. J. (1970) Development of Systems for Use in Career Guidance: Paper presented at Cambridge University Conference sponsored by the Career Research Advisory Center, Cambridge, United Kingdom