Creating the Modern Michigan Psychology Department: The Chairmanship of Donald Marquis, 1945-1957

Abstract

History of the 1945-1957 deanship of Donald Marquis in the University of Michigan Department of Psychology. Provides biographical information on Marquis in addition to an in-depth study of how he transformed the department into one of the leading programs in the United States. Tpics include faculty appointments, the development and expansion of the clinical and social psychology programs, creation of the Institute for Social Research and Survey Research Center, acquisition of the Research Center for Group Dynamics, and establishment of the joint PhD Program in Social Psychology. Also details the department's work in the fields of experimental, physiological, and mathematical psychology, creation of the Mental Health Research Institute, and overall development of curriculum and education programs. Each topic is accompanied by detailed portraits of faculty members and often contain contextual information about events at the University of Michigan and the field at large.