History
History of Psychology at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa.
Preface
1786 (December 11): Four prominent ministers from the German Reformed and Lutheran Churches, in conjunction with numerous Philadelphians, petition the state legislature for the establishment of a German college in rural Lancaster. With the petition comes numerous pledges of financial support, headed by a generous gift of 200 pounds cash paper from "His Excellency, Benjn Franklin, Esq
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790.
1787 (March 10): Pennsylvania legislature grants charter and act of incorporation for "Franklin College", to be named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, "from a profound respect for the talents, virtues and services to mankind and to this county." Ten thousand acres of public lands in northern Pennsylvania are granted in financial support to the College. Trustees nominated in the charter include: four signers of the Declaration of Independence, three members of the Constitutional Convention, and seven officers of the Revolutionary War.
1787 (March 19): Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg is elected first Principal (President) of Franklin College. G. H. E. Muhlenberg serves as president until 1815, when the college is operated solely by the board of trustees.
Background
One hundred miles away and more than 40 years later, in Mercersburg, Pa., a small college began to take shape. Having grown from a Reformed Church academy, Marshall College, named upon the death of Chief Justice John Marshall, officially opened in 1836 with a well-established reputation. During its first year, 18 students were taught by Frederick Augustus Rauch and his assistant, Samuel A. Budd. Rauch, an acclaimed young scholar and theologian from Germany who authored the first American textbook in psychology, also served as the College’s president. The faculty grew in both size and status with the addition of John Williamson Nevin and another German scholar, church historian Philip Schaff. Nevin became the college’s president upon Rauch’s sudden death in 1841.
1836: Dr. Frederick Augustus Rauch is elected the first president of Marshall College. Dr. Rauch serves until his untimely death in 1841 at age 34.
1839: The Rev. Mayer withdraws from his professorship at the Theological Seminary. Dr. Rauch agrees to conduct both the college and seminary until the arrival of the Rev. John Williamson Nevin in 1840.
1840: Dr. Rauch publishes Psychology - a View of the Human Soul. It is the first book in America to use the term "psychology" in its title, and is influential in spreading Hegelian philosophy throughout the United States.
a View of the Human Soul was intended to be the first of a series treating of the same general subject. As was said in the preface it was "the first attempt to unite German and American mental philosophy."and as such it was enthusiastically received by the most competent critics. It was recognized as a work of genius, and became a text book in many literary institutions. though now superseded for purposes of instruction, it occupies a position in the history of education of which it can never be deprived. It was Dr. Rauch who in America introduced the study of psychology as a distinct science.
1841 (March 2): President Rauch dies suddenly after a short illness. The Rev. John W. Nevin assumes the presidency of Marshall College. He serves as president until Franklin and Marshall Colleges combine in 1853.
1920: Psychology becomes part of the curriculum at Franklin and Marshall College
1930: Paul Whitely left the Chenango Valley to come to Lancaster as professor of psychology at Franklin and Marshall. It was an association which was to last for 29 years until his retirement in 1959.
1968: Construction of Whitely Psychological Labs begins.
1969: Completion of Whitely Psychology Labs, with the help of funds provide from private sources and by the National Science Foundation. The building contains 27,000 sq. ft. devoted primarily to laboratory work in the study of animal and human behavior. Other areas provide spaces for offices , classrooms, and supportive activities. (e.g., computer facilities. shops, photography, laboratories, library, ect.). Some of the special features of the Whitely Labs are a research facility for the study of subhuman primates: a new laboratory for research in electrophysiology; and a greatly improved laboratory for the study of psychoacoustics. We know of no comparable facility for the study of psychology among undergraduates institutions in this country.
The Paul L. Whitely Psychology Laboratories at Franklin and Marshall College honor a man whose research, "The dependence of learning and recall upon prior intellectual activities," was one of the earliest studies having to do with interference effects in memory. For three decades he singularly advanced the study of psychology at Franklin and Marshall, and prepared the groundwork for the Department's extensive endeavors today.
1988: Paul LeRoy Whitely passes away.
Future
Franklin & Marshall Life Sciences Project
LANCASTER, Pa. - Franklin & Marshall College President John Fry announced today that the college has received a $10 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, plus a matching donation of $10 million from a longtime supporter, Mrs. Ann Barshinger, to help fund construction of a state-of-the-art Life Sciences building.
Gov. Rendell: "A world-class home for research and teaching."
While delivering his budget address in February, Gov. Rendell cited the project as a way to make life sciences research facilities and equipment available to start-up companies. The Commonwealth's contribution to the project was part of the governor's economic stimulus package.
Ann Barshinger: "Proud to be a part of the College's ongoing success."
"I am pleased to help support this important new building for Franklin & Marshall," said Mrs. Barshinger. "The Life Sciences project will directly impact the quality of health care in the future, and I could readily connect with that."
"My late husband, Dick, and I have long believed that Franklin & Marshall is a special college. We wanted to leave a legacy, and Dick’s choice was F&M," she said. Her husband graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 1943.
Gov. Rendell, Ann Barshinger, F&M Pres. John Fry
A tradition of excellence in the sciences
In announcing the support, President Fry said the building would create collaborative opportunities among the faculty and students from biology, philosophy and psychology. The college already has interdisciplinary programs exploring the world of the mind through Biological Foundations of Behavior, and Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind.
"Franklin & Marshall has long had a reputation of preparing students for extraordinary careers in the sciences and health care. The new Life Sciences building will ensure our continued pre-eminence in this vital teaching endeavor," said Fry.
The president said he believes the new building will also open the way for collaborative opportunities between the college and other local institutions, like Lancaster General Hospital.
The Life Sciences building will be located at the gateway to the college, immediately off Harrisburg Pike. Architectural designs for the new building will be completed this spring. The building is expected to be occupied in the Fall of 2007.
