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http://www.psy.ohio-state.edu
OSU Psychology » The First 100 Years n 1898, Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, and that same year, “Psychology” first appeared in the Ohio State course catalog. The first course in Introductory Psychology was actually taught in the Department of Philosophy by Professor John Short, and later by university president William Henry Scott. The psychology curriculum quickly began to grow. At the turn of the 20th century, the university dedicated a laboratory to psychology research, which boasted an impressive four pieces of mechanical equipment. Soon after, in 1907, University President William Oxley Thompson formed the Department of Psychology in the College of Education. Psychology was housed in University Hall and chaired by David R. Major who, along with Thomas N. Haines, made up the entire department. In 1912, George Frederick Arps became department chair. Arps was one of the first generation of American psychologists, having studied with Wundt in Leipzig. Arps went on to take the role of Dean of the College of Education in 1920, and later held the position of Dean of the Graduate School until his death in 1939. Through the 1920’s interest in psychology grew dramatically. Enrollment in Introductory Psychology leaped from 35 to 95 in one year. In 1921, Sidney Pressey, an innovator in education and psychology, joined the faculty. Pressey authored the first book on standardized testing and invented and patented the first teaching machine in 1924, fully thirty years before B. F. Skinner’s popularization of teaching machines. One of Pressey’s OSU machines is in the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
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In 1926, the Department was still housed on the fourth floor of University Hall, but conditions became so crowded that experimentation was nearly impossible. The department moved to the new Educational Building, later named Arps Hall. In 1940, Harold Burtt became chair of the department. Under Burtt’s direction, the department grew in the new areas of social and counseling psychology. One of Burtt’s most prominent students, Frank Stanton, earned a Ph.D at Ohio State and went on to become President of CBS. Stanton later endowed the Harold E. Burtt Chair in Psychology in honor of his advisor’s 100th birthday. During World War II, OSU’s Psychology department played an important role. In
1942, the Navy opened a Recognition Lookout School on the Ohio State Campus, using the visual perception methods of professor Samuel Renshaw. In just two years, 4,000 Navy officers were trained in the splitsecond recognition of air and surface crafts, and they in turn trained over 285,000 Navy pre-flight candidates. In the years following the war, the University experienced “Veteran’s Bulge” with millions of military men and women entering higher education. Double shift programs of classes were stepped up, and class sizes reached 500 students. In the 1960’s, a request for a building dedicated to psychology was made but turned down by the state (continued on page 2)
FROM THE CHAIR ::
100 YEARS
t is my pleasure to once again serve as chair of the department of psychology. My appointment is off cycle as our former chair, Gifford Weary, assumed the position of interim Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences this past summer. Over the past 6 years under Weary’s excellent leadership, the department has prospered, culminating Richard Petty in the celebration of our 100th anniversary as a department and our move into a state of the art psychology building. Over the past year, the department received much good news. Several faculty have won prestigious awards (see insert) and in 2008 the department was rated as having one of the “best of the best” graduate programs at OSU by a special committee examining the quality of all doctoral programs at the university. As a result of this distinction, the graduate school will provide extra stipends to all of the graduate fellows in our department. This news from the graduate school reinforces the external evidence of our quality such as a Top 15 ranking among public university psychology departments by US News and World Report, and a Top 10 ranking in overall citations to faculty research by the Institute for Scientific Information. Although the next few years will pose significant economic challenges for the nation, Ohio, and Ohio State, I am confident that with the continued good work of our faculty, staff, and students, and with the help of the state, the university and our alumni friends, we can continue the forward progress we have made over our distinguished history. In the next newsletter I will outline the several recent hires we have made and are about to make. Until then, I wish you the very best for a successful 2009.
legislature. However, a new wing was added to the Ohio Stadium, and Psychology was able to move some faculty and laboratories there. Chair Robert Wherry also succeeded in moving the Psychology department from the College of Education to the newly formed College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in 1968. By 1974, with 300 graduate students and 650 undergraduate Psychology majors, the department occupied five different locations on campus. Consolidation was critical. Chair Samuel Osipow proposed a plan that would move Psychology to Lincoln Tower with the rest of the College of Behavioral Sciences in 1974, but the costs of renovation were too high. Fortunately, renovations were made to Townshend Hall in 1984, and five years later, a large renovation project for Lazenby Hall provided lecture space, research labs, and graduate student offices. In 1998, Richard Petty became chair of the department, and was involved in two important events in the department’s history. First, the Department won a university-wide Selective Investment competition for new funds in 1998 and was recognized as one of the finest in the field with a strong faculty, solid programs, and a clear vision for the future. Second, the department was successful in finally gaining approval for a new Psychology Building. In November 2001, the Board of Trustees authorized the building and design work began. In 2002, Gifford Weary became chair and took over the building project. Construction finally began in April 2004, and the completed building opened its doors just two years later on January 10, 2006. At the opening of the building, Weary said, “We have a great history and tradition. We want to carry that forward, and we want to do right by those who came before us, who have given so much to the department. That includes staff, faculty, and former students. There’s a great deal of pride in OSU Psychology.” When Weary became Dean of the SBS College in 2008, Petty once again became chair. With a new building and a diverse and nationally recognized faculty, the Department looks ahead to its next hundred years with excitement and pride.
Psychology @ OSU » 1907-2008
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Classroom in 1898
1st psychology class taught by professor John Short Psychology emerges as a formal discipline
1898 WINTER2009
Arps Hall
George Frederick Arps
David R. Major is chosen as Psychology department’s first chair. The department is housed in University Hall
George Frederick Arps is named professor of psychology and the new OSU Psychology Department chair The first Ph.D is awarded to C.W. Bock
1907
1912
1915
1917
Dr. Sidney Pressey
Dr Sidney L. Pressey invents the first “teaching machine”
1920s
The Great Depression hits, and enrollment drops.
The department moves from University Hall to the new Educational Building, later named Arps Hall
Enrollment in Introductory Psychology increases three-fold from 35 to 95
OSU awards its first Masters Degree in Psychology
Department of Psychology is officially formed under the college of Education
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1925
1926
1930s
Harold
The US Navy ope tion Look-out Sch Ohio State Campu Professor Samue visual perception a key role
Harold E. Burtt, a pioneer in industrial psychology, is named the new chair of the department.
1940
O H I O S TAT E PSYCHOLOGY
Distinguished Alumni
Each year, the Department of Psychology recognizes one graduate with the Distinguished Alumni Award. These recepients have gone on to make significant contributions in psychology or a related field.
2005 : : DONALD “AL” RILEY
2006 :: CLAUDE STEELE
2007 : : MICHAEL TURVEY
Professor Emeritus Donald “Al” Riley received his Ph.D. in Psychology from The Ohio State University in 1950. That same year he joined the Psychology faculty of the University of California at Berkeley. Rising through the ranks, he became Professor in 1964, served as Associate Vice- Chancellor for Academic Development for UC Berkeley, and chaired the department from 1982 through 1987. He has been Professor Emeritus since 1991. Professor Riley is regarded as a thoughtful, respectful, and generous mentor to his students, and many of them went on to productive careers in animal learning. He earned an international reputation as a scientist who maintained the study of animal learning and cognition as an ecologically relevant field.
Professor Steele received his Ph.D. in Psychology from The Ohio State University in 1971. That same year, he joined the faculty of the University of Utah, moving to the University of Washington, then the University of Michigan, and finally to Stanford University in 1991. At Stanford, Professor Steele served as department chair, the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, and the Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Professor Steele’s research interests include how people cope with threats to the self-image, stereotype threat, and addictive behaviors. He is the recipient of numerous awards among which include the Cattell Fellowship, the Gordon Allport Prize, the William James Fellow Award from the APS, the Kurt Lewin Prize from the Society for the Scientific Study of Social Issues, the Senior Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from both the APA and the APS. Professor Steele is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Education, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Turvey received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1967, where he was a student of Delos Wickens. That same year, he joined the faculty at the University of Connecticut. He was promoted with tenure just two years later, and was again promoted early to full professor in 1973, where he currently serves as Board of Trustees’ Distinguished Professor. Professor Turvey has also had a joint appointment at Haskins Laboratories since 1970. Professor Turvey is now considered among the foremost researchers in the world in the study of reading, motor control, perception (haptic, visual and auditory). He has won numerous national and international awards for his research. He received an APA early career award in 1974. He was the University of Connecticut Alumni Association Distinguished Professor from 19941997. He has been elected to the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society for Experimental Psychologists, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. In addition to his scholarly contributions, Professor Turvey is renowned as an outstanding teacher and public speaker. He has on several occasions won the University of Connecticut Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence. In his 39 years at the University of Connecticut, he has taught more than 25,000 undergraduates and produced over 40 PhDs.
Delos Wickens
E. Burtt
ns a Recognihool on the us; Psychology el Renshaw’s research plays
The University experiences “Veterans Bulge” and enrollment begins to rise
George Kelly and Julian Rotter both join the faculty.
1942
1946
Cross-departmental work begins to develop, and faculty are hired in the Clinical, Quantitative, and Social Psychology areas. A new wing is added to the Ohio Stadium and Psychology is permitted to move some faculty offices there
1950s
1959
S. Raines Wallace, who had been serving as President and CEO of American Institutes for Research, joined Psychology as its new department chair Dr. Samuel H. Osipow becomes chair. Now with 300 graduate students and 650 undergraduate Psychology majors, the department is too large for the facilities at Arps Hall and is spread across campus in five areas.
Chair Robert J. Wherry campaigned and succeeded in having the Department of Psychology moved from Education to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Robert J. Wherry, an industrial/organizational psychologist, becomes chair
1960
Teaching machine
Lecture, 1966
Frank Stanton
1968
1970
1974
DEPARTMENT NEWS :: New Faculty in 2007-2008 : : Amy Brunell (Assistant Professor, Newark) from the University of Georgia. : : Pat Carroll (Assistant Professor, Lima) completed his Ph.D at the University of Florida before becoming a NIMH Institutional NRSA Postdoctoral Research Fellow at OSU.
former colleagues and graduate students. Dr. Brewer moved to Sydney, Australia following her retirement. :: Associate Professor Harvey Shulman retired in 2008 after serving the department and university for 38 years. :: Also in 2008, Professor Roger Page retired after 34 years at the Ohio State Lima campus.
: : Jennifer Cheavens (Assistant Professor, Columbus) joins the department from Duke University Medical Center.
:: Bill Hemming, the Psychology Building coordinator and resident artist, retired in October 2008.
: : Jill Coleman (Assistant Professor, Newark) joins OSU from Middlebury College, Vermont.
Awards :: The Psychology Department was one of 12 doctoral programs now recognized as among the best at OSU after the completion of the far-reaching Doctoral Program Assessment in 2008.
: : Kristi Costabile (Assistant Professor, Marion) was formerly a NIMH Postdoctoral Fellow, at Ohio State. : : Mike DeKay (Associate Professor, Columbus) comes to OSU from Carnegie Mellon University. : : Simon Dennis (Associate Professor, Columbus) joins the department from the University of Adelaide, Australia : : Fabio Leite (Assistant Professor, Lima) formerly from the University of California, Irvine. : : Marilee Martens (Assistant Professor, Newark) was formerly a Research Specialist at OSU’s Nisonger Center. : : Joanne Ruthsatz (Assistant Professor, Mansfield) completed her Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University.
Retirements : : Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor Marilynn Brewer retired at the end of Fall quarter 2008. A celebration was held in her honor in mid-September, which included many current and
James C. Naylor, a quantitative psychologist, comes to OSU from Purdue University to Chair the Psychology Department
1984
1986
1989
:: Professor Randy Nelson was chosen as a 2008-2009 University Distinguished Lecturer, one of the University’s highest honors for a senior faculty member. :: Dr. Alisa Paulsen was selected as the 2008 recipient of the University Career Services Award. :: Associate Professor Tracy Tylka received the University’s 2008 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. For more department news, visit http://www.psy.ohio-state.edu/
1990s Faculty
Lazenby Hall
2001
Richard Petty becomes chair for a second time
January 10, Psychology building officially opens its doors
The OSU Board of Trustees authorizes employing architectural and engineering firms for the construction of a dedicated Psychology Building
1998
New Psychology Building
Gifford Weary becomes department chair
Richard Petty becomes department chair
Lazenby Hall is renovated providing new lecture space, research, labs, and graduate student offices gets renovation including lecture space, research, labs, and graduate students office
Townshend Hall is renovated to accommodate the department’s growth
:: Associate Professor Luc Lecavalier received the AAIDD 2008 Early Career Award and was named the first APA Division 33 Early Career Award winner in August 2008.
The Psychology Department celebrates the 100th Anniversary of its formation.
Construction of the new Psychology building begins
2002
2004
2006
2007
2008 WINTER2009
100 Years of Excellence
Townshend Hall
:: Professor Russell Fazio received the 2008 University Distinguished Scholar Award, recognizing him for his exceptional scholarly accomplishments.
100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
A Celebration
n September 2007 the department celebrated its 100th Anniversary. Over 400 faculty, staff, and alumni gathered to celebrate. Two days of events featured an address by Norman Anderson, CEO of the American Psychological Association, as well as presentations by distinguished OSU alumni John Cacioppo, Walter Mischel, Claude Steele, and 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award winner Michael Turvey.
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:: Make a gift in any amount through the Psychology Department website: www.psy.ohio-state.edu or using the enclosed envelope. :: Pledge a gift over time :: Include the Psychology Department in your estate planning :: Endow a lecture hall, research facility, academic chair, or student scholarship. :: Contact Tammy Parker, 614-688-5660, regarding opportunities to give to the Department
WHAT’S INSIDE ::
For more information on ways you can support student research or conference travel, contact Dr. Alisa Paulsen, Director of Undergraduate Programs, at 614-247-4435.
HOW CAN I HELP? : :
:: OSU Psychology: The First 100 Years :: Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence :: Distinguished Alumni :: Department News
: : In 2008-2009, 25 psychology students are on track to complete an Honors Thesis. Nine students are expected to present posters of their research at the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA) conference in Chicago in May, 2009. Five sophomore honors psychology students will also travel to the conference as part of the Psychology Honors Research Mentorship Program.
PSYCHNews is published by The Ohio State University Department of Psychology
: : The 13th annual Denman Undergraduate Research Forum took place on May 14, 2008, with 30 students participating in the Psychology Division. Since 2004, the Department of Psychology has been the only department to have its own research category due to the large number of psychology students submitting posters for judging.
Gifts to the Department of Psychology at Ohio State make a tangible difference in the daily life of our faculty, staff, and students. They build on our strong foundation and help to assure a bright future for the department. Naming opportunities are available and provide unique opportunities to make a lasting impact, but your gift at any level will make a critical difference. If you would like to discuss ways you can help make a difference in the Department of Psychology, please call, write, email or fax: Tammy Parker, Director of Development, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1501 Neil Avenue, Suite 020, Columbus, Ohio 43201, 614-688-5660 or parker.465@osu.edu
Department Chair Richard Petty E-mail psychchair@osu.edu Website www.psy.ohio-state.edu
: : The new Psychology Honors Research Mentorship Program (PHRMP) offers students a three-year, intensive research experience opportunity. Students work closely with a faculty member to develop and hone their research skills. This program was designed for students who plan to pursue doctoral-level graduate work in psychology. Students begin working in a research lab before starting work on an honors thesis their sophomore year. Work in the senior year focuses on submitting their research for publication and/or presenting at conferences.
Support the Department of Psychology
Please send correspondence and changes of address to: Richard Petty, Chair Department of Psychology The Ohio State University 1835 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210-1237
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM NEWS ::