A public convocation celebrating two landmark events in the field of psychology that occurred in New Haven 75 years ago will be held on Friday, Sept. 3, in the Presidents Room of Woolsey Hall, corner of Grove and College streets.
The first event being commemorated is the Ninth International Congress of Psychology, which was held at Yale Sept. 1-7, 1929. Called "the most impressive gathering of psychologists in the history of the discipline," the event brought together over half of all psychologists in the United States. All told, 826 psychologists from 21 nations attended -- including such luminaries as Ivan Pavlov and Lev Vygotsky of Russia, Jean Piaget of Switzerland and Kurt Lewin of Germany.
The second event is the creation of the first National Honor Society in Psychology -- Psi Chi -- which was launched on Sept. 4, 1929, by two graduate students attending the aforementioned congress. In the 75 years since it was launched, Psi Chi has become the world's largest academic honor society, with chapters at 1,000 campuses across North America. Psi Chi is also the world's largest psychology membership organization, with over 500,000 individual life members around the world. In 1981, Psi Chi formed its sister society, Psi Beta, to recognize excellence among students at two-year colleges; the latter now includes an additional 25,000 members at 180 campuses in the United States.
The Yale celebration on Sept. 3 will feature a keynote message from historian John D. Hogan of Saint John's University, as well as brief messages by several officers of Yale, Psi Chi, Psi Beta and the International Division of the American Psychological Association (APA). These include President Richard C. Levin, Yale College Dean Peter Salovey; Psi Chi officers Harold Takooshian and Vincent Prohaska; Psi Beta officer Ann E. Garrett Robinson; and international psychologists Richard Velayo and Florence Denmark.
A proclamation by the New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. will designate Sept. 3 as "Psi Chi Day in New Haven," and Yale will be presented with a gift to recognize it as the birthplace of Psi Chi.
The convocation is open to the public free of charge. Further information is available at (212) 636-6393 or takoosh@aol.com.
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