Phyllis W. Beck was born on October 7, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY and raised in the Bronx. She graduated from Hunter College High School (1945), followed by Brown University’s Pembroke College for Women (1949).
Judge Beck spent two years in the publishing field in Massachusetts. First, she worked as a researcher for Time magazine, and then as a newspaper reporter for the Berkshire Eagle. Shortly after, Judge Beck married her lifelong partner, Dr. Aaron T. Beck, and briefly attended graduate psychology classes at Bryn Mawr College. Judge Beck then enrolled in nearby Temple University’s night and weekend law school. She graduated first in her class (1967), completing the law program in almost half the time of most of her cohort.
In 1981, Judge Beck became the first woman to serve on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, when she was appointed by Governor Dick Thornburgh. She was elected to a full 10-year term in 1983. At the behest of Governor Casey, Judge Beck was instrumental part of the 23-member committee searching and analyzing ways to modernize Pennsylvania’s Court system. In 1988, the committee recommended major overhauls.
Beck has been involved as faculty at Temple Law, Villanova, and has served as Vice-Dean at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Judge Beck has published many scholarly articles on topics such as equal rights, judicial rules and reform, and appellate court review. Beck has also represented the United States State Department [in Argentina] regarding Civic Participation in Judicial Reform.
Judge Beck is an active servant of many non-profit organizations, such as: The Museum of American Jewish History, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia Free Library, American Law Institute, National Association of Women Judges, American Judicature Society, the University of Pennsylvania’s Nursing School, and President of the Foundation for Cognitive Therapy.
She retired from the bench in 2007.