Department of Psychology at Illinois State University
Department of Psychology Celebrates 40 years
Since its founding in 1857, Illinois State Normal University's primary mission was the training of teachers. Academic programs were organized into divisions and departments. Psychology classes, which focused on school psychology and guidance, were offered through an Education and Psychology Department.
The Department's Early Years
On July 1, 1964, the University was renamed Illinois State University. Beginning with fall semester 1966, the structure of the University changed to reflect a new mission and the associated expansion of program offerings. The College of Arts and Sciences was created and the Psychology Department became a separate department within the college. The department was first located in 420 Schroeder Hall.
The new undergraduate degree in psychology was directed
toward providing the student with a solid liberal arts
education. Also in fall 1966, the department began offering
a master's degree in psychology. Available sequences included
clinical, counseling, educational, experimental, and measurement.
The master's degree in school psychology, formerly in
the Education Department, was moved to the Psychology
Department. As the department's program and training standards
were expanded, students were required to complete an internship,
often within the local elementary and high schools.
A complete revamp of the psychology undergraduate curriculum
was instituted to give more freedom of choice to the students.
One innovation in 1969 was offering the general education
psychology course by radio! Students could enroll and
participate by listening to radio lectures and phoning
in their questions.
Also in 1969, the department relocated to a a house at
225 North University Street, one block north of Schroeder
Hall. The first chair of the Psychology Department was Walter
Friedhoff. Faculty listed in the 1967-1968 catalog included
the following:
The Department in the '70s
In the mid-1970s, the Psychology Department moved into its present location in DeGarmo Hall. The second chair of the Psychology Department was Macon Williams. Faculty listed in the 1980-1981 catalog included the following:
During the 1980s, two graduate sequences and one doctoral
program were added. Beginning in 1981, the department
offered a graduate program in industrial organizational
psychology. In the mid-1980s, a developmental sequence
was added; since its inception, the sequence was interdisciplinary
and focused on lifespan development.
Several years later in 1989, the Illinois Board of Higher Education approved a doctoral degree program in school psychology. Graduates of the doctoral program, with the required post-doctoral experience, are eligible for the state licensing examination for clinical psychologists, as well as for the state and national certification examinations for school psychologists.
In 1991, the school psychology master's degree program was upgraded to the specialist degree. Graduates of the specialist program are eligible to sit for the state and national certification examinations for school psychologists. The specialist program is a three-year program and is accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists/National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.
The third chair of the Psychology Department was Larry Alferink. Faculty listed in the 1990-1991 catalog included the following:
Recent Years in the Department
After John Pryor served a year as acting chair, David Patton Barone became the department's fourth chair. The current faculty is listed on the department's Faculty Web site. In 2000, the master's degree program in psychology was reorganized into four sequences: cognitive and behavioral sciences (formerly known as experimental psychology), developmental psychology, industrial/organizational-social psychology, and quantitative psychology (formerly known as measurement-statistics).
Since the College of Education had discontinued its counseling degree program and Illinois had institute licensing, the Psychology Department created a separate master's degree program in clinical-counseling psychology. It was approved in 2002 by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the first class of clinical-counseling psychology graduate students started in fall 2003.
The undergraduate program has been revised in various
ways. Incoming students take an introductory psychology course in small
sections. All majors take a one-credit, eight-week
course on careers in psychology. Statistics courses
now include two to three hours per week in the department's
31-station computer classroom. The research methods
course also includes weekly laboratory/discussion sections.
Advanced laboratory courses in research methods are
taught in the DeGarmo human (former animal) research suite
and in psychology faculty members' animal laboratories
in Felmley Hall. The new capstone options for seniors
provide out-of-class experiences that incorporate knowledge
and skills acquired in the classroom. Capstone options
include research apprenticeships, teaching assistants,
internships, honors thesis and presentation of the research
at the honors colloquium, or participation in senior
seminar.
In addition to undergraduate and graduate programs, the department also operates the Psychological Services Center (PSC). Originally identified as Counseling Services or "the Clinic," the PSC utilizes undergraduate students and graduate students in the school psychology and the clinical-counseling psychology programs to provide psychological evaluations and therapeutic services primarily to underserved children in the local community. The PSC has evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of students, parents, school systems, and the community with the services it supports.
In 2007, the Department of Psychology celebrates its 40th anniversary in conjunction with the University's sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. Events coincided with Homecoming 2007.
