Psychology 100th Anniversary
2024 gala
Chair's message
Welcome to the official page celebrating the 100th anniversary of the psychology department here at Wayne State University! We are thrilled to commemorate this milestone with various activities and events during fall 2024 and Winter 2025. Please refer back to this page for ongoing updates about our department’s history and details on upcoming events as we mark this special occasion.
The psychology department had its first building around 1950 in 436 Putnam. The department then moved across Cass Avenue to the old Webster Hall Hotel (renamed David Mackenzie Hall by WSU) where it was located until 1981. The third location for the psychology department was 71 West Warren St. – a place many of our current faculty remember fondly. In the summer of 2005, the psychology department moved to its current location at the corner of Warren and Woodward Avenues. The seventh and eighth floors of 5057 Woodward Avenue have been the home base for the department since then.
While psychology courses were probably taught on campus as early as the late 1800s, it wasn’t until 1924 that our department was formally established as a distinct entity. As psychology’s popularity has continued to increase, our psychology department has grown from just a handful of full and part-time faculty in the 1920s to nearly 40 today. For a century, our department has led national and international psychological research and groundbreaking discoveries, while also providing exceptional education to undergraduate and graduate students. The psychology department is one of 20 academic departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) at Wayne State University and is currently ranked #80 by U.S. News and World Reports and #82.5 by the National Research Council (NRC).
Our award-winning faculty are engaged in research across various fields, including behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognitive and developmental science, and social-personality psychology. Our undergraduate programs are expanding, with many students pursuing graduate studies or careers in which they use their psychology degrees to make a positive impact on society. Our Ph.D. graduates have embarked on exciting careers in academia, healthcare, industry and policy.
As a department, our expertise continues to address several critical societal issues such as mental health, healthcare, education and neuroscience just to name a few. On behalf of our faculty, staff and students (both graduate and undergraduate), we invite you to join us in our year-long celebratory activities.
Scott Bowen
Professor and chair of psychology
Events will take place during the week of Sept. 23 with a gala event for graduate student alumni, previous professors and chairpersons.
- Sept.23
- Sept.24
- Sept.25
- Sept.26Psychology Themed Trivia 4:30 p.m.
Recent news 📰
- WSU's undergraduate psychology program ranked among the best in the nation
- Wayne State University professor receives career achievement award from the Society for Health Psychology
- Christina Costa (she/her): I'm a member of STP, and this is how I teach
- Supplying a High: Kenner police crack down on illegal nitrous sales
- Gender identity development
Newsletters ✉️
- The Wayne Psychologist Spring 1983
- The Wayne Psychologist 1984
- The Wayne Psychologist 1985
- The Wayne Psychologist 1987
- The Wayne Psychologist Summer 1988
- The Wayne Psychologist Summer 1989
- The Wayne Psychologist Summer 1990
- The Wayne Psychologist Summer 1991
- Psychology Matters Winter 2001
- Psychology Matters April 2019 Special CLAS Alumni Family Day Edition
Learn more about the history of the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University as told by Sheldon J. Lachman, psychology faculty member for 48 years (1946-1994).
A look back through the years
Centennial Celebration
In May 1968, B.F. Skinner delivered a landmark lecture, "Psychology in the Year 2000," at Wayne State University as part of the institution's centennial celebration, marking a historic moment for the psychology department.
His presence underscored the university's commitment to advancing psychological science. Recognizing this event for our department's 100-year anniversary honors the legacy of Skinner’s contributions and celebrates Wayne State's role in shaping the future of psychology.
Campus news archives
- AIDS organization has brand new home 04-12-1995
- Bass chairs psychology 11-12-1992
- Child Development Lab transferred to Merrill-Palmer 10-22-1998
- Children meet the president 05-13-1999
- Hundreds of high schools from tri-county visit campus 11-08-2001
- Introducing Sheldon Alexander 03-30-1981
- Lachman Lecture Slated 04-15-1999
- Parents look for help with the kids 01-26-1994
- PCBs in fish may adversely affect children's Inside Wayne State 12-10-1992
- Psych dept responds to trauma terror and war 11-08-2001
- Psychology professors tenure denial questions 08-01-1996
- Psychology seeks affiliation with College of Science 02-06-1992
- Psychology staff moves into new home 08-13-1981
- Scholarship recalls visionary chair, 1999
- The miracle of learning starts early at WSU, 1996
- WSU program will educate Detroit youths about the dangers of AIDS 05-29-1990
- WSU psychology clinic offers help 09-23-1996
- WSU targets middle school children in new AIDS research programs 05-20-1992
Program information
Department memos
- Chair memo about lab equipment 02-22-1930
- Chair memo about compensation 06-10-1932
- Chair memo about reading room 04-26-1936
- Chair memo to dean for psy lab equipment 02-06-1939
- Chair memo about moving seats 03-01-1941
- Chair memo about assistant pay 03-31-1943
- Chair memo about larger building for psych dept 06-16-1943
- Statement from PSY dept about proposed consultation services 12-20-1943
- Inter-dept memo paying Skinner 1968 and APA info, 1948
- Inter-dept memo BF Skinner Psychology in the Year 2000 09-20-1967
- Inter-department memorandum BF Skinner accepts invite to seminar 09-29-1967
- Budget and memos about centennial symposium, 1968
For accessible versions of PDF documents, please contact psychology@wayne.edu.