Bonnie Ruth Strickland, PhD, ABPP, was born in 1936 and educated in the public schools of Alabama. She has a PhD in clinical psychology and was on the faculty of two major universities. She was one of the youngest Dean of Women ever appointed to serve at a major college. Dr. Strickland was president of the American Psychological Association and a Founder of the Association for Psychological Science. She wrote or co-authored more than a hundred scientific and scholarly works, including two Citation Classics in psychology. She has co-edited a book, Women and Depression: Risk Factors and Treatment Issues, and is co-author of a widely used locus of control scale for children. She has conducted research in areas as diverse as Black activism, need for approval, health and lesbian psychology. At a personal and political level, Dr. Strickland was involved in the major social movements of her time. She was an early advocate for civil rights, marched in the peace and women's movements and was similarly involved in the gay rights movement. She testified before Congress on behalf of minority concerns; her commitment to social justice is long standing. Dr. Strickland lives happily in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts with her partner, Marjorie.
