1934-1960: Founding the Psychology Department
By the 1920s the leading research universities had established departments of psychology, but most liberal arts colleges were still treating psychology as a stepchild of philosophy and education. That was certainly true at Hope College--even though Louise Weaver became the first Hope graduate with a degree in psychology in 1920, followed by Paul Brouwer in 1931.
The situation changed during the 1930s. Hope College decided to form a separate Department of Psychology in 1934, with Earnest Brooks and Paul McLean as the principal instructors.
The department's program grew slowly during the 1930s and early 1940s. In the first ten years the department graduated only two psychology majors: Roger Heyns (1940) and Lucille Kooyers (1944).
In the years following World War II, interest in psychology grew dramatically around the country, and the psychology program at Hope also experienced rapid growth. Harold J. Haverkamp was appointed as Instructor of Psychology in 1945 and served as Associate Professor of Psychology from 1946-1952. Lars I. Granberg joined the Hope faculty as Assistant Professor of Psychology in 1947, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1952, left for doctoral work in 1954, and returned in 1960 as the first member of the Hope College Psychology department to hold a Ph.D. in psychology.
The psychology program gradually began to attract more student interest, with the number of psychology majors approximately doubling every five years. From 1945 to 1949, nine students graduated with a major in psychology. From 1951-1954, 25 psychology majors graduated. From 1955-1959, 50 psychology majors graduated.