Ruth Hubbard Cousins (May 21, 1920 – January 11, 2007) was an American psychologist, best known for her influence in shaping
Psi Chi
Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States.
Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,150 cha ...
as Executive Secretary and Executive Director from December 1958 to October 1991. In addition Cousins worked with her daughter Carol Tracy to help co-found another psychology
honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...
,
Psi Beta
Psi Beta () is a scholastic honor society that recognizes academic achievement among students in the field of Psychology at two-year colleges.
The society was incorporated in Chattanooga, Tennessee on November 5, 1981, and admitted to the Associat ...
in 1981.
Early life
Ruth Hubbard Cousins was born on May 21, 1920 in
Waleska, Georgia
Waleska ( ) is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 644 at the 2010 census.
History
The first white settlement in the Waleska area began in the early 1830s. Among these first pioneer settlers were the Reinhardt, H ...
and was one of six children of Charles Turner Hubbard and Frances Boston Hubbard. Both of her parents were teachers: Frances Hubbard was an elementary school teacher and Charles Hubbard taught physics at a local college. After her family's house burned down when Cousins was a baby, her family decided to move to
Tifton, Georgia
Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County.
The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Ag ...
. Around this time her father changed careers, working with a team in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
as a construction contractor.
Education
Cousins moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
after high school and attended the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. While there she met her future husband James Franklin Cousins, an economics major at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
. The couple met at the
Grace Methodist Church on
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
in 1941, and one year later were married there. After graduating from Duke University, James Cousins worked for a
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
certificate. The couple lived together in New York while James was in the Law program at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. During this time, their first daughter Carol Cousins was born. Around the time that the USA entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the family moved to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, after James received his orders to report for duty as a naval officer. After he was deployed overseas, Cousins and her daughter Carol moved in with her parents in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. They remained in Georgia for about three years until James returned home from the war. James received an offer of an administrative post at Duke University, the family moved to
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 ...
, and nine months later their second daughter Joan Cousins was born.
The family moved again in 1953, to
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
after James received an offer for a job at the
National Automobile Dealers Association
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is an American trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised new car and truck dealerships, both domestic and foreign. Established in 1917, the organization is based in Tysons Corner, V ...
.
After this move Cousins started to attend
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
with the desire to take a child psychology course. In order to take this course though Cousins needed to take an introductory psychology course. The professor of Cousins' introductory course for Psychology, Eva Johnson, was the person who later convinced Cousins to go work for Psi Chi. Cousins completed her bachelor's degree and Graduate degree in 1963 for Psychology at George Washington University.
Psi Chi
In 1958, while working towards her bachelor's degree, Cousins was approached by Dr. Eva Johnson. Johnson wanted Cousins to take on the position of Executive Secretary-Treasurer, at Psi Chi the National Honor Society in Psychology. The name of the position was later changed from Executive Secretary-Treasurer to Executive Secretary. Since she was still a student Cousins originally only planned to stay one year at Psi Chi in order to help the society to regain a solid standing. During the year she was there, James also helped to support Psi Chi with his business and non-profit knowledge. It was James who helped establish a solid bookkeeping system for Psi Chi. James died from appendicitis complications in September 1959, as a result of his death Cousins decided to stay on as Executive Secretary at Psi Chi. Cousins devoted her energy towards Psi Chi and recruited her daughters Carol and Joan Cousins to help with various Psi Chi duties such as typing, mailing and filing.
Changing Psi Chi's status
Following her decision to stay with Psi Chi, Cousins worked to help institute many changes to the organization. One of the changes Cousins helped to implement was to change Psi Chi's status as an honorary society to that of an honor society. Cousins started working for this change after the head office received a question from one of the Midwest Psi Chi chapters asking what their registration fee for Psi Chi afforded them. As an honorary society, all a Psi Chi officer at the main office could offer them was to store the chapter's membership records. Cousins desire to take the steps necessary to turn Psi Chi into an honor Society was not realized until Wayne Dennis became the Psi Chi President in 1961. With Dennis' support, Cousins was able to move forward with this plan and in 1965, Psi Chi became an official honor society. As a result, Psi Chi was allowed to affiliate with
Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a predominantly American, voluntary association that serves a number of functions with respect to national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. ACHS coordinates member organizations, faci ...
(ACHS). This change allowed potential members to apply to Psi Chi based on their credentials instead of through invitation and voting from their chapters.
Psi Chi speakers
Cousins was the one who put forth the proposal to start inviting distinguished speakers to give talks for Psi Chi sponsored programs in 1962. One of goals Cousins had for Psi Chi was to create more programs to increase student involvement in Psychology. One of the first individuals Cousins invited was
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
professor
Edwin G. Boring
Edwin Garrigues (Garry) Boring (23 October 1886 – 1 July 1968) was an American experimental psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Clark University and at Harvard University, who later became one of the first historians of psychology. A ''Rev ...
, a critic of Psi Chi who had been against its founding. After Boring accepted the invitation to talk he changed his views and became an avid supporter of Psi Chi throughout the rest of his life. Over the years many psychologists have come given talks for Psi Chi, including
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.
...
, who accepted Psi Chi's invitation to speak six different times.
Moving locations
Throughout the time she worked there, Cousins helped to oversee the move of Psi Chi's offices in 1964, 1980 and 1987. The move in 1964, was to the attic space of the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
's building on 16th street in Washington, D.C. This move marked the first time there was adequate space for the Executive Secretary and one other staff member. Before this move, Cousins and her staff had operated the central office of Psi Chi out of Cousins' own home. During January 1980, Psi Chi left the American Psychological Association (APA)'s space in Washington D.C to another of the APA's buildings in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
. Psi Chi ended up needing to move again just a few years later in 1987 after the building they were working in was condemned. Finally Psi Chi moved to
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
to share a building with the newly formed Psi Beta and this became the permanent location of Psi Chi central office.
Psi Beta
During the time that Cousins worked at Psi Chi, she received letters from professors at two year colleges who wanted a two-year psychology honor society. After searching in vain for someone to start this new honor society, Cousins turned to her daughter Carol Tracy and convinced her to help found it.
Psi Beta, the National Honor society in Psychology for Community and Junior Colleges was founded in 1981 by Ruth Hubbard Cousins and Carol Tracy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In November 1987, at the advice of the current Psi Chi president
Virginia sexton
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, Cousins oversaw the move of Psi Chi to Chattanooga, Tennessee in order to share a location with Psi Beta. This move allowed Psi Beta to grow and allowed Psi Chi to avoid spending too much of their finances. A few years later Psi Beta became the first two-year college honor society accepted into the Association of College Honor Societies.
Retirement
After three decades worth of service, Ruth Hubbard Cousins resigned from her position as Executive Director for Psi Chi in October 1991. Her departure was monumental enough that preparations for her departure began a year in advance. After her retirement in 1991, Cousins spent her time exploring her interests in history and genealogy and as a result joined the
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence.
A non-profit group, they promote ...
.
During this period of time Cousins also conducted 52 interviews with World War II veterans living in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and created an oral history project that is now stored in the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. At the age of 86 and dealing with
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
Ruth Hubbard Cousins died on Thursday January 11, 2007 at
Erlanger Hospital
The Erlanger Health System (often referred to as Erlanger Hospital or Erlanger), incorporated as the ''Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority'', a non-profit, public benefit corporation registered in the State of Tennessee, is a system of ...
in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Cousins was buried beside her husband James F. Cousins on February 5, 2007 in the
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
Legacy
Ruth Hubbard Cousins helped to shape Psi Chi into the thriving organization it is today by working to increase the amount of student involvement in both Psi Chi and the Psychology major field. Following the work her late husband started, Cousins with the combined effort of the
National Council helped Psi Chi achieve a monetary surplus in the late 1980s. She helped to expand the number of chapters and chapter locations, as well as increase the number of life members. When she arrived Psi Chi had 25,000 members spread across 130 chapters and she expanded it to 221,573 members from 734 chapters.
Under Cousin's guidance Psi Chi has become the largest group affiliated with Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS). Along with these achievements she became one of the first women to serve on the
Society of Association Executives board in Washington D.C.
In 1991, the American Psychological Association awarded Cousins with the first ever honorary lifetime membership. In 2001, the American Psychological Association presented to Cousins the APA Presidential Citation, in honor of all the work she had done for Psychology.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard Cousins, Ruth
1920 births
2007 deaths
People from Cherokee County, Georgia
American women psychologists
20th-century American psychologists
20th-century American women
21st-century American women