By DORIAN SERRA

On Saturday September 30th of 2023, Beloit College’s own Psychology department held an event celebrating the passing of its 100th year in existence. It was titled “100+ Years: A PSTCentennial Celebration.” 

Host and current psychology department chair Suzanne Cox was glad that it was able to be scheduled during Beloiter Days. The majority of attendees were previous alumni and current psychology major or minor students. Cox introduced the event as well as the speakers, panelists, and planned schedule. This “labor of love,” as Cox called it, was put on “amidst so many changes within the department, within the school, and in higher education.” It was done so by the many faculty members, current and former.

 In the Moore Lounge of Pearsons second floor, former Beloit College Professor Lawrence White, known as Larry, began his lecture. White had a strong interest in the history of both the college and his own department. He gave a shout out to Beloit’s archivist, Fred Burwell, for this interest and for his assistance. White went on to give an account of the history of psychology both as an independent department and as a subject in general. 

The first psychology course taught here was in 1897, and the development of the psychology department came around in 1923. The first psych classes taught at Beloit were championed by Guy Allen Tawney, who was taught under Wilhelm Wundt, the accepted father of psychology. 

These courses remained as a branch of the philosophy department until the arrival of Margaret Wooster in 1920. She was the first woman to have a doctorate to teach at the college. She pushed for the separation of psychology from philosophy as its own department and did so to complete success. Neither Tawney nor Wooster remained at Beloit for an extended period of time. 

The department grew in success and grew in numbers in its early decades. It peaked in both predictably alongside the proliferation of the Beloit Plan. It also suffered severely in the seventies as did much of the college. The psychology department then bounced back due in great part to the arrival and popularity of Debra Poole in 1980. 

Until 2018, the department saw popular success. Much of the current faculty has left in the last two years.Despite this, psychology is one of the most popular majors on Beloit Campus with 52 current majors, 36 of which are double majors, and 31 have studied abroad. 

White ended his historical presentation acknowledging the rough spot that the department is in. He noted that it had been here before and made astounding comebacks in the past without the overwhelming popularity among students, and current cultural importance in this era. He is optimistic about the future of psychology at Beloit. 

After a brief five-minute break the event resumed with a panel of current and former psychology majors. This segment consisted of pre-screened questions, and then free-form questioning. Panelist Erin Falligant‘91, now a successful children’s author, initially considered her psych classes to be her “fun slots.” She now thinks that, though they were fun, they have been incredibly useful and important. She finds psychology to be crucial to addressing current cultural issues such as political polarization and the mental health epidemic. 

Scott King‘00 is now a psychology professor himself and thinks that it is worth studying plainly “because it’s about people.” He took his first psych class here to complete his general requirements and fell completely into it. He reassures us of its importance saying that it is not “science for science’s sake, it has applied effects.” 

Haleigh Thomas‘15 works in child protective services and believes that her psychology studies impact her “every single day.” She points to psychology’s ability to assess systemic issues as a profound strength of the field. 

A recent graduate, Guadalupe Orbexo-Perez‘20, appreciates how psychology has allowed her to understand both herself and those around her in a more appreciative and sympathetic way. Current students Franccesca Mamani‘24, Samantha Irwin‘25, and Mason Sorensen‘25 populated the rest of the panel. They forwarded some of their own personal experiences and reasonings behind their interest in psychology. They also assisted in selling pens and the book “Professor Tawney’s Chronoscope, Psychology and Psychologists at Beloit College.” This is the detailed history of which White researched and presented in brief. 

After the panel had finished, everyone was welcome to stay and intermingle. Bon Appetit had been brought in and a full and fresh lunch service was offered to everyone, whether they had RSVP’d or not. Students, alumni, professors past and present all enjoyed continuing their conversations and networking. The psychology department’s 100-year celebration was a great success.