History Timeline of
Significant Milestones
of the Department of Psychology
1901 H. Elmer Bierly
(A.B. Princeton; some graduate work at
Princeton & Harvard) establishes Florida's
first psychological laboratory in College
Hall at Florida State College with
equipment obtained from Clark University. College
Hall was located approximately on the current site
of the Westcott Building, just inside the main
gates of Florida State University. (See
biographical
information about H.E. Bierly.) 1909 Edward Conradi
(Ph.D. Clark University) becomes
President of Florida State College for Women and
teaches psychology courses in Philosophy
Department. 1923 Paul F.
Finner (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin)
becomes first Head of FSCW's new Department of
Psychology 1926 A major public
controversy arises concerning the
propriety of FSCW's Psychology faculty teaching
Freud and Darwin. 1935 Department of Psychology faculty move to
offices and state-of-the-art research laboratories
on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Education Building
which had been reconstructed with the aid of the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration This
building was later renamed the Psychology Building
and now the Eppes Building 1947 Florida State College for Women becomes
Florida State University 1948 Hugh L. Waskom
(Ph.D. Indiana University) becomes 2nd
Head of Department of Psychology 1950 Winthrop N.
Kellogg (Ph.D. Columbia University)
moves to FSU from Indiana University and begins
research on the use of sonar
by porpoises and blind humans. 1952 Doctoral Degree Program in Psychology
established by State Board of Education 1953 1st Ph.D. in Psychology, awarded to Robert
Hattwick (Experimental Psychology; Howard Baker,
Major Professor). This was the 2nd Ph.D. degree
awarded by Florida State University 1958 1st Ph.D. in Psychology to a woman, Fay Tyler
Norton (Experimental Psychology; Winthrop Kellogg,
Major Professor). 1964 1st Ph.D. in Psychology to a minority
student, Manuel Vega (School Psychology; Wallace
Kennedy, Major Professor) 1972 1st Ph.D. in Psychology to an African
American student, Aubrey Perry (Clinical
Psychology; Jack Hokanson, Major Professor) 2002 725 Ph.D.s
in Psychology awarded in 50 years 1954 American Psychological Association accredits
graduate training in Clinical Psychology 1963 Psychology Research Building opens with 5
floors and over 32,500 sq. ft. of lab space.
Funding was provided by NSF and NIH grants obtained
by Dan
Kenshalo, and by matching funds from the
State. 1964 The Psychobiology Program, headed by Dan
Kenshalo and Lloyd Beidler (Biology), receive
substantial programmatic funding as part of the
National Science Foundation's Development of
Excellence award to FSU. Funding included
approximately 12 new faculty lines to be split
between Psychology and Biology, about 15 technical
and staff positions to operate the research
facilities, a large equipment budget, and an annual
expense budget. The State of Florida agreed to
maintain the lines and expense budget permanently
when the grant period ended. 1966 Joseph H.
Grosslight (Ph.D. Yale University)
becomes 3rd Chair
of Department 1975 Daniel R.
Kenshalo (Ph.D. Washington
University)receives the Robert
O. Lawton Distinguished Professorship
Award 1981 Kellogg Research Building (formerly
Psychology Research Building) dedicated in honor of
Winthrop Kellogg. Dedication
ceremony included a public lecture by
Jane Goodall to acknowledge Kellogg's famous
project in the 1930s when he raised his son with a
chimpanzee for 9 months to study the nature/nurture
question. 1986 Michael E.
Rashotte (Ph.D. University of Toronto)
becomes 4th Chair of Department 1988 Barron
Scarborough begins assembling a
Department history 1989 George E.
Weaver (Ph.D. University of Iowa)
becomes 5th Chair of Department 1989 Alumnae of FSCW endow Edward Conradi Eminent
Scholar Chair in the Department of Psychology. This
was the first endowed chair in the College of Arts
& Sciences. 1991 Doctoral Degree Program in Neuroscience (for
Psychology and Biological Science students)
established by Board of Regents 1992 James
C. Smith (Ph.D. Florida State
University) receives the Robert
O. Lawton Distinguished Professorship
Award K.
Anders Ericsson (Ph.D. University of
Stockholm, Sweden) moves to FSU from the University
of Colorado (Boulder) as the Conradi Eminent
Scholar. 1995 Robert
C. Contreras (Ph.D. Michigan State
University) becomes 6th Chair of Department 2001 Initial planning funds from State for new
Psychology Center Building. The new facility will
consolidate Department of Psychology faculty, staff
and students into one building and will be located
on the grounds of the old Florida High School (DRS)
on the west side of campus 2002 Janet
A. Kistner (Ph.D. SUNY-Binghamton)
becomes 7th Chair of Department 2002 Roy
Baumeister (Ph.D. Princeton) moves to
FSU from Case Western Reserve University as the
Francis Eppes Eminent Scholar in Psychology 2005 Department of Psychology occupies new
Psychology Center Building
"There has been established a psychological
laboratory, the first one in Florida, which,
with its apparatus and accessories, affords
almost every opportunity for studying the
different senses, memory, illusions, time
relations, and the nervous system." [From
the 1902-03 College Catalogue]