Kathryn McHale

Kathryn McHale
Kathryn McHale in 1935
BornJuly 22, 1889
Logansport, Indiana
DiedOctober 8, 1956
Washington, D.C.
OccupationEducator

Kathryn McHale (July 22, 1889 – October 8, 1956 ) was an American educator and psychologist. She was general director of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) from 1929 to 1950.

Early life and education

Kathryn McHale was born in Logansport, Indiana, the daughter of Martin McHale and Margaret Farrell McHale.[1] Her brother Frank M. McHale became a prominent lawyer and political figure.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1919, followed by a master's degree in 1920, and a PhD in psychology in 1926.[3] Her dissertation was titled Comparative Psychology and Hygiene of the Overweight Child (1926).[4]

Career

McHale taught school in Logansport as a young woman. After completing her doctorate, she joined the faculty of Goucher College in Maryland, and became a full professor there in 1927. She left Goucher in 1935. She also taught at New York University, Carleton College, and the University of Minnesota.[1] She was on the board of trustees of Purdue University from 1937 to 1946. She was active in policy work with UNESCO,[5] the United States Office of Education,[6] and the American Association of Adult Education, among other bodies.[3][7][8]

McHale was general director of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) from 1929 to 1950.[9] "McHale's skills in organization building and the sense of professionalism she passed on to the Association members meshed well with the Depression era's climate of public activism," noted historian Susan Levine in 1995.[10] McHale took particular interest in women's health issues, encouraging AAUW members to learn about the early detection for cancer in the 1930s, when such campaigns were rare.[11] But she steered the organization away from addressing the legalization of birth control, which she opposed personally, and which she worried would cause a split in AAUW's membership.[10] She similarly avoided making decisions about racial integration of the AAUW;[12] her standard response to inquiries was that "no one has pressed the issue of branch membership, and naturally I do not care for the issue to arise." However, in 1946, the national board of the AAUW instructed that branches should not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, religion or political affiliation.[13]

After leaving the AAUW executive office, McHale was the longest-serving member of the Subversive Activities Control Board, appointed in 1950 during the Truman administration,[14] and remaining involved until May 1956, a few months before her death.[3][15][16]

Publications

McHale mostly published in the fields of educational administration and developmental psychology, with articles in journals including Journal of Applied Psychology,[17] Journal of Higher Education,[18][19] Childhood Education,[20] The Psychological Clinic,[21] and Teachers College Record.[22] She also co-authored publications of the AAUW.[23][24]

  • "An Experimental Study of Vocational Interests of a Liberal Arts College Group" (1924)[17]
  • "An Information Test of Interests" (1930)[21]
  • "Changes in the Colleges" (1931)[18]
  • "Special Education for Parents and Teachers" (1931)[20]
  • The Infant and The Toddler (1931, with Elizabeth Moore Manwell)[25][26]
  • Pre-adolescence: Its Development and Adjustments (1932)[27]
  • Adolescence: Its Problems and Guidance (1932, with Frances Valiant Speek and Harriet Ahlers Houdlette)[23]
  • "Future Possibilities in Liberal-Arts Education: Some Expert Opinions" (1932)[22]
  • "Education for Women" (!935)[19]
  • Newer Aspects of Collegiate Education: A Study Guide (1936, with Frances Valiant Speek)[24]

Personal life

McHale had a stroke and died in Washington, D.C. in 1956, aged 67 years.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b Leavitt, Judith A. (1985). American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-0-313-23748-5.
  2. ^ "Frank McHale Dies at 84; Former Democratic Leader". The New York Times. 1975-01-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  3. ^ a b c "Dr. Kathryn McHale" Indiana Commission for Women (2018).
  4. ^ McHale, Kathryn (1926). Comparative Psychology and Hygiene of the Overweight Child. Teachers College, Columbia University.
  5. ^ Doyle, Genevieve (1947-09-14). "Is Delegate to UNESCO". Arizona Daily Star. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Citizens' Federal Committee on Education Holds First Meeting". School Life: 11. June 1946.
  7. ^ Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Junior Bar Section, Radio Committee (1952). Text of Discussion Presented Over Radio Station WWDC, February 10, 1952, on "District Roundtable". The Board. p. 9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Dr. Kathryn McHale Will be Honored by A.A.U.W." Arizona Daily Star. 1941-01-05. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Meeropol, Ann Karus (2014-02-10). A Male President for Mount Holyoke College: The Failed Fight to Maintain Female Leadership, 1934-1937. McFarland. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7864-7133-1.
  10. ^ a b Levine, Susan (1995). Degrees of Equality: The American Association of University Women and the Challenge of Twentieth-century Feminism. Temple University Press. pp. 27–30, 47–50, quote on page 28. ISBN 978-1-56639-326-3.
  11. ^ "AAUW's Cancer Education Campaign". AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  12. ^ Laville, Helen (2017-02-20). Organized White Women and the Challenge of Racial Integration, 1945-1965. Springer. p. 118. ISBN 978-3-319-49694-8.
  13. ^ Leone, Janice (1989). "Integrating the American Association of University Women, 1946-1949". The Historian. 51 (3): 423–445, quote on page 429. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1989.tb01270.x. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 24447356.
  14. ^ Shawhan, Dorothy S.; Swain, Martha H. (2011-04-06). Lucy Somerville Howorth: New Deal Lawyer, Politician, and Feminist from the South. LSU Press. pp. xxvi. ISBN 978-0-8071-3875-5.
  15. ^ United States Congress, House of Representatives (1957). Hearings. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 86, note 2.
  16. ^ United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations (1953). Independent Offices Appropriations for 1954: Hearings Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-third Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 199.
  17. ^ a b McHale, K. (1924). "An Experimental Study of Vocational Interests of a Liberal Arts College Group". Journal of Applied Psychology. 8 (2): 245–255. doi:10.1037/h0074214. ISSN 0021-9010.
  18. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn (1931). "Changes in the Colleges". The Journal of Higher Education. 2 (6): 289–294. doi:10.2307/1974813. ISSN 0022-1546. JSTOR 1974813.
  19. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn (1935). "Education for Women". The Journal of Higher Education. 6 (9): 459–468. doi:10.2307/1975606. ISSN 0022-1546. JSTOR 1975606.
  20. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn (1931-01-01). "Special Education for Parents and Teachers". Childhood Education. 7 (5): 246–248. doi:10.1080/00094056.1931.10723618. ISSN 0009-4056.
  21. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn (April 1930). "An Information Test of Interests". The Psychological Clinic. 19 (2): 53–58. PMC 5138348. PMID 28909334.
  22. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn (1932-10-01). "Future Possibilities in Liberal-Arts Education: Some Expert Opinions". Teachers College Record. 33 (10): 230–255. doi:10.1177/016146813203301009. S2CID 251540972.
  23. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn; Speek, Frances Valiant; Houdlette, Harriet Ahlers (1932). Adolescence: Its Problems and Guidance. National headquarters.
  24. ^ a b McHale, Kathryn; Speek, Mrs Frances Valiant (1936). Newer Aspects of Collegiate Education: A Study Guide. AAUW.
  25. ^ McHale, Kathryn; Manwell, Elizabeth Moore (1931). The Infant. National headquarters.
  26. ^ McHale, Kathryn; Manwell, Elizabeth (1931). The Toddler. National headquarters.
  27. ^ McHale, Kathryn (1932). Pre-adolescence: Its Development and Adjustments. National Headquarters [American Association of University Women].
  28. ^ "Dr. Kathryn McHale Dies Suddenly in Washington". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. 1956-10-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.