Ms. Doris Sommer-Rotenberg developed the idea of an endowed chair dedicated to the study of suicide to honor the life of her son, Arthur. The first incumbent of the chair, named in Jan. 1997, discusses the mission, goals, initial objective & underlying principles of the interdisciplinary academic program. All behaviors from self-harm to suicide, using the Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) as a model, will be studied. Testing of promising interventions or preventive strategies will be done.