Department of Psychology History

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  The History of Psychology at Illinois State University: Expanding Opportunities, 1857-2009

  David Patton Barone, John Cooper Cutting, Joseph L. French, Alvin E. House, James J. Johnson, Karen I. Mark, and Mark E. Swerdlik

  From Preface: "Through our research, we have come to learn of the rich history of psychology at Illinois State Normal University (ISNU), and our Psychology Department at ISU. The history has come alive in more than a listing of degrees offered and course requirements, but through the people, both faculty and students, who have studied the discipline of psychology through the many years. Students began studying psychology in the late 1800s as part of their study of pedagogy at ISNU and the curriculum has diversified into a strong undergraduate program and graduate training in a variety of psychology specialties including clinical/counseling psychology, school psychology, industrial/ organizational-social psychology, cognitive and behavioral sciences, developmental psychology, and quantitative psychology. Psychology began with mental science courses taught by presidents of the university, it expanded when psychology faculty members were hired and courses added, and it became established into what is currently the second-largest psychology department in the State of Illinois, after the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with 37 full-time faculty, eight staff members, approximately 500 undergraduate majors, 500 minors, and 140 graduate students. The department has more than 5,000 alumni.

  Our monograph is organized into chapters focused on three historical time periods and three programs. The first chapter, "Psychology: The Early Years: 1857-1943" traces the teaching of psychology from its earliest beginnings at the three-year Normal school. In Chapter 2, "ISNU at mid century: The Gestation Period, 1943-60," focuses on psychology at ISNU before there was a standalone psychology department and includes a discussion of the degree programs and provision of psychological services to the community by university faculty and graduate students under the supervision of these faculty members. Chapter 3, "ISNU/ISU psychology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries" focuses on the expansion of the department in terms of faculty, students, and the undergraduate and graduate curricula. The final three chapters examine the histories of three of the largest programs in the department: the undergraduate, school psychology, and clinical-counseling graduate programs."