Preserving the History of APA Division 14/SIOP Jan 97

Recording and preserving the history of Division 14/SIOP have been issues discussed frequently among Executive Committee members for the past 40 years. For example, in 1958, Dr. Douglas H. Fryer, Vice President and Technical Director, The Klein Institute for Aptitude Testing, Inc., New York, suggested to Dr. Orlo L. Crissey, of General Motors Institute, and Division 14 Secretary/Treasurer, that a history of Division 14 be prepared. The purpose of the history was to honor those who contributed to the early years of the American Association of Applied Psychology (AAAP) in establishing Division 14 (Fryer, February 18, 1958). Dr. Crissey agreed to take the suggestion to the Executive Committee (Crissey, March 18, 1958). A Committee on the Early History of the Business and Industrial Division was appointed by Dr. C.H. Lawshe, President, Division 14. Members of the committee were Douglas H. Fryer (Chair), Harold E. Burtt, and Leonard W. Ferguson (Lawshe, June 24, 1958). A draft of the history was written; it included 5 sections written by Doug Fryer and Harold Burtt and was entitled "The Organization of Business and Industrial Psychology in the United States" (Committee on the Early History of the Business and Industrial Division of the American Psychological Association, 1960). A sixth section on the organization of Division 14 was supposed to be written by Ferguson but was never completed. According to Ferguson, "How many times and in how many ways do I have to tell the Executive Committee of Division 14, either informally or formally, that the historical material I was asked to complete is not worth completing" (Ferguson, February 13, 1962). His concerns were based on the lack of information and facts available to complete the section.

Crissey responded,

I must admit that I was uncertain in my own mind as to just what material might be available and whether it was worth putting together. After reading your letter, I agree that the best thing that can happen is to quietly bury the whole assignment. The nature of the material available, the inaccuracies in the content, and the other reasons you mentioned all indicate that it would not be worth the time and effort to try to make something of this information that is so obviously inadequate. (Crissey, March 2, 1962)

Crissey and Ferguson agreed that Ferguson would spend his time working on the history of industrial psychology rather than completing the original document. Several publications on the history of industrial psychology were completed by Ferguson (1962-1965). Recently, a historical account of SIOP was completed by Benjamin (in press).

In 1973, Dr. Paul Thayer arranged with Dr. John Popplestone to have all Division 14 documents stored at the Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron (Thayer, 1973). Division materials from 1945 through 1975 are deposited in this repository. Examples of documents include business meeting minutes, committee reports, executive committee meeting minutes, membership lists, and correspondence between officers.

In 1984, Ann Howard, SIOP Secretary-Treasurer, requested materials from Past Presidents. She stated that materials are located in the APA Archives at the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (Howard, November 6, 1984). The APA Division Handbook requests that division materials be deposited at this repository. Some division materials exist for the years 1972 through 1981.

In 1993, Paul Sackett, SIOP President, appointed an Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Frank Landy, to investigate the preservation of SIOP's history. The committee identified two separate but related needs. One need was the collection, maintenance, and preservation of SIOP archives. The second need was the development of the historiography of the discipline of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In order to fulfill these needs, the committee suggested that a Historian or History Committee be appointed.

For the first time in 50 years, the SIOP Executive Committee appointed a Historian during the Executive Committee meeting on April 28-29, 1996. The appointment is for a two year term and the Historian is an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee. The Historian's primary responsibilities are to recover, record, and preserve materials related to the business of Division 14/SIOP since its inception.

A process for recording and preserving the history was approved during the Executive Committee held September 7, 1996. The Archives of the History of American Psychology (AHAP), University of Akron, was re-approved as the repository for Division 14/SIOP archives. AHAP has been added to SIOP's mailing list so member materials are sent directly to storage. All living Past Presidents and Officers have been contacted for materials. Additional steps are being taken to record and preserve the history. They include the following:

1. All materials stored at the SIOP Administrative Office were deposited at AHAP.

2. The responsibility for saving and submitting materials will be included in the duties/responsibilities of all officers and committees.

3. Checklists indicating those records to be transferred to the new officer and committee chair and those records to be stored are being prepared for each officer and committee chair person. These checklists will be included in the Administrative Manual.

4. A brief orientation of the preservation process will be conducted annually for new officers and committee chairs.

5. All current and future materials will be sent to the SIOP Administrative office where they will be stored temporarily. The Historian will then prepare the materials for storage at AHAP.

6. Additional activities are being conducted to recover past materials.

A historian and these activities are necessary to preserve the history of Division 14/SIOP. Upon examining materials currently stored, it is apparent that many records for the past 20 years are missing. The Executive Committee is commended for recognizing the value of preserving our organization's history and taking action to insure that our history is not lost or forgotten.

References

Benjamin, L.T., Jr. (in press). Taking care of business: A history of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In D.A. Dewsbury (Ed.), Unification through divisions: Histories of the divisions of the American Psychological Association (Vol. 2). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Committee on the Early History of the Business and Industrial Division of the American Psychological Association (1960). The Organization of Business and Industrial Psychology in the United States. Division 14 Archives, Archives of the History of American Psychology (AHAP), University of Akron.

Crissey, O.L. (March 18, 1958). Letter to Dr. Douglas Fryer. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Crissey, O.L. (March 2, 1962). Letter to Dr. Leonard W. Ferguson. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Ferguson, L.W. (February 13, 1962). Letter to Dr. O.L. Crissey. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Ferguson, L.W. (1962-1965). The heritage of industrial psychology (14 pamphlets). Hartford, CT: Finlay Press.

Fryer, D.H. (February 18, 1958). Letter to Dr. O.L. Crissey. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Howard, A. (November 6, 1984). Memo to Past Presidents, Society of I/O Psychology. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Lawshe, C.H. (June 24, 1958). Letter to Dr. O.L. Crissey. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.

Thayer, P. (1973). Letter to Dr. John Popplestone. Division 14 Archives, AHAP, University of Akron.