Bonnie Strickland
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Bonnie Ruth Strickland | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 24, 1936 (age 89) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology |
| Institutions | Emory University, University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Doctoral advisor | Julian Rotter[1] |
Bonnie Ruth Strickland (born November 24, 1936) is an American psychologist and academic. From her decades long career at Emory University and University of Massachusetts Amherst to her time as the president of the American Psychological Association (APA) she has contributed a great deal to clinical psychology, social psychology, and feminism.[2]
Strickland was born in 1936 in Louisville, Kentucky and spent much of her early life in the south. She later went on to graduate school in Ohio to pursue a doctorate degree in psychology. As a closeted gay woman in the 1950s and 60s, she became very interested in learning about marginalized people through research.[3] Strickland has become an important figure for psychologists and feminists alike and continues to contribute to academia as a professor at the University of Massachusetts to this day.
Strickland was born on November 24, 1936, to Willie Whitfield and Roy Strickland in Louisville, Kentucky. She later moved to Birmingham, Alabama with her mother and brother after her parents’ separation and spent much of her childhood there.[4] Strickland believes that growing up in the South had a major impact on her development in adolescence, and it could be considered a key inspiration for the research she has conducted during her career and her dedication to civil rights.[5]
At age 14, Strickland joined a softball team that played an important role in her discovery of her identity. She met other girls that reminded her of herself, and through her team members’ support, she came to terms with her lesbian identity. Following the discovery of her sexual orientation, she spent time reading the Bible and other literature on the subject which led her to believe homosexuality was a bad thing, and she resorted to remaining closeted for a long time.[3]
Strickland's high school gym teacher helped her apply to Alabama College where she was accepted. As an undergraduate at Alabama College Strickland studied and received a degree in physical education but was introduced and took interest in psychology by a professor of hers named Herbert Eber. She then went on to get a psychology doctorate degree at Ohio State University in 1962.[4]
