Ruth Howard | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 25, 1900 |
| Died | February 12, 1997 (aged 96) Washington D.C. |
| Occupation | Psychologist |
| Known for | Being one of the first African American women to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology, and her work on the development of triplets, which was published in two different Psychology Journals. |
| Spouse | Albert Sidney Beckham |
Education and career
editAfter graduating from high school, Howard attended Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts where she majored in social work. In 1921, she received her bachelor's degree and moved to Cleveland, Ohio where she started as a social worker. Shortly after, she went back to Simmons College and received her master's degree in 1927.
Howard received the Laura Spelman Rockefeller fellowship in 1929 and again in 1930. With this fellowship, she attended the Teacher's College and School of Social Work at Columbia University from 1929-1930 and studied child psychology at the Child Development Institute at the University of Minnesota from 1930-1934.
In 1934, she received her Ph.D. in psychology and child development from the University of Minnesota.[1]
Howard studied the development of triplets for her doctoral dissertation. One of her main conclusions was that triplets were less developed in general abilities compared to single children. She was awarded an internship at the Illinois Institute for Juvenile Research after receiving her doctorate and eventually began her own clinical psychology-based private practice.
From 1940-1964, Howard co-directed the Center for Psychological Services with her husband Albert Sidney Beckham. Before this, Ruth Howard interned and worked in different organizations and institutions that shaped her idea on working with young people.[2] During this time, Howard also held the staff psychologist position at the Provident Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, which trained African American nurses. Additionally, she held the position of a psychological consultant at Florida and Missouri schools of nursing while lecturing, working at psychology clinics, and consulting for other organizations. For Howard's postdoctoral studies, she collaborated with other doctors and therapists, which led to some of her publications like one on play therapy.[2]
From 1964-1966, she worked at the McKinley Center for Retarded Children as a psychologist. Afterwards, she worked at Worthington and Hurst Psychological Consultants as a staff psychologist until 1968. She then became a psychologist for the Chicago Board of Health until 1972.[3]
 | This user is a student editor in Davidson_College/Black_Psychology_(Fall_2021). |
- ^ Margaret W. Rossiter (1982). Women scientists in America: struggles and strategies to 1940. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-2443-2. OCLC 8052928. OL 3780837M. Wikidata Q105272922.
- ^ a b "Biography of Ruth Winifred Howard". https://www.apadivisions.org. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ Moore Patrick (1999). Notable Black American Scientists. Gale. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-0-7876-2789-8. OL 374536M. Wikidata Q105272919.