Oran Wendle Eagleson (1910–1997) was the Callaway Professor of Psychology at

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He was the eighth black person in the United States to receive a doctorate in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

Early life and education

Oran Wendle Eagleson was born in

Unionville, Indiana Unionville is an unincorporated community in Benton Township, Monroe County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History Unionville was originally known as Fleenersburg, and under the latter name was plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (p ...

in 1910.* In Bloomington, Indiana he completed his PhD at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1935. He also earned a bachelor's degree in 1931 and a master's in 1932, both in Indiana. Eagleson worked as a

shoe shiner Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was traditionally d ...

and shoe repair finisher from high school through graduate years.

Career

It was hard for Eagleson to find employment with his psychology degree. He found a job in 1936 in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

at the

North Carolina College for Negroes North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chaut ...

, where he taught psychology, sociology, economics, and philosophy. After financial issues in Durham, he moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to teach at Spelman, a women's college. At Spelman, he was high paid, but psychology was not a major. It was an elective until a few years later. Eagleson also served as an exchange professor at Atlanta University where he taught graduate courses. He became the dean of instruction at Spelman in 1954 and in 1970 he was promoted as Callaway Professor of Psychology. He was co-director of Morehouse-Spelman Intensified Pre-College program. He was also a lecturer and consultant in orientation and training project conducted by the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

References

Bibliography

* 1910 births 1997 deaths 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 20th-century American psychologists People from Monroe County, Indiana Indiana University Bloomington alumni North Carolina Central University faculty Spelman College faculty {{US-psychologist-stub