Inventory to the Records of Rutgers Psychological Clinic,
Dates:
1929-1965
Quantity:
1.2 cu.ft. and 5-16mm motion picture reels
Abstract:
The records of the Rutgers Psychological Clinic derive from
the files of Dr. Anna Starr, director. Included are clinical and annual reports, 1929-1957;
files pertaining to activities in connection with psychological testing, speech therapy,
World War II, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gifts, Freshmen Reading Surveys, and the 25th
anniversary conference; statistics, 1929-1945, including an in-depth analysis of Middlesex
County (NJ) patients, 1929-1935; files, including a dissertation by R. Wayne Jones (Univ.
of Miami, 1963) and a master's thesis (Rutgers, 1937) pertaining to the Rutgers Drawing
Test, a nonverbal intelligence test developed by Anna Starr that was administered to
pre-school children; clippings, brochures and other publications pertaining to the clinic;
some records and writings by Henry E. Starr, the first director. Five motion picture films
documenting testing of children are also included.
Collection No.:
RG 30/C1
Language
English.
Repository:
Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.
In October, 1929, university president John Martin Thomas and the Board of Trustees of Rutgers University established the
Rutgers Psychological Mental Hygiene Clinic as a
distinct department. It was anticipated that the Rutgers Clinic would provide
facilities for psychological examination and extended case studies. It would
also provide intensive study and cooperate with the psychology department to
offer graduate instruction. The clinic was funded by a state grant made through
the Commissioner of Institutions and Agencies, William J. Ellis.
The first director of the clinic was Henry E. Starr, chairman of the
psychology department. During the Depression, clinic facilities became
increasingly utilized as a laboratory for advanced courses. The state grant was
eventually withdrawn due to the financial problems of the times, and the clinic
became part of the the psychology department.
In 1944, Dr. Anna Starr, widow of the late Henry E. Starr, became director
of the clinic. She had worked with her husband since the clinic's founding and
continued to direct it until her retirement in 1956.
The records of the Rutgers Psychological Clinic are the papers maintained by
Dr. Anna Starr, director of the clinic from 1944 to 1956. Included are clinical
and annual reports dating from 1929-1957, statistics, files pertaining to the
Rutgers Drawing Test, newspaper clippings, early history of the clinic, surveys,
memos, speeches and correspondence pertaining to the twenty-fifth anniversary of
the clinic, records on the participation in war activities, material relating to
psychologiccal testing and speech therapy, films of testing methods, a scrapbook
of clinic activities, and some records and writings of Henry E. Starr, director
of the clinic from 1928 to 1935.
The collection consists of seven series: reports, statistics, the Rutgers
Drawing Test, the Rutgers Psychological Clinic, Subject File, the personal
scrapbook of Anna Starr and five film reels of testing methods.
With the Report Series are annual reports of the growth and development of
the clinic. Also incuded are memos between both Anna Starr and her husband Henry
Starr and those to the presidents and deans of the university. The Statistics
Series includes in-depth correlation and analyses, especially of patients who
lived in Middlesex County. In the Drawing Test series can be found a file on
Margaret Moreau and her work in Latin America. Robert Wayne Jones' dissertation
is included in this series. In the Rutgers Psychological Clinic series is a
manuscript of Anna Starr's that chronicles the clinic's history. The Subject
File series contains newspaper clippings and photographs. The War Activities
folder includes letters by the Red Cross in Lyons, France, commending Dr. Starr
for her contribution to children suffering the psychological effects of war. The
Personal Scrapbook series contains an entire history of public opinion on the
clinic and Dr. Starr. The film reels series is an invaluable record of Dr.
Starrs testing methods and demonstrates her work with patients.
Includes annual reports of the Rutgers Psychological Clinic
from 1931-1957. Also includes summaries of activities for each year, numbers of
cases by county, graphs memos to deans, referrals and recommendations.
Includes in-depth assessment evaluations of the Rutgers
Psychological Clinic; numbers of diagnoses of cases in Middlesex County, numbers
of towns from which cases came, statistical summaries and percentages of certain
diagnoses, breakdowns of nationalities, age and religious affiliations, and
various barcharts, graphs and maps.
Box
Folder
1
32
Middlesex County, 1929-1935
33
Rutgers Psychological Clinic: First report, first 1,000 cases, 1929-1945
Includes copies of the actual Rutgers Drawing Test, original
scores of drawing test "A," correspondence between Anna Starr and Margaret
Moreau about drawing test, a dissertation by Robert Wayne Jones on the drawing
test, published journal articles about the drawing test and a thesis by Margaret
C. Stevens written on the drawing test.
Includes a manuscript by Dr. Anna Starr that ws later
published, titled "Rutgers Psychological Clinic, A Chronicle and Interpretation"
(1929-1956), a folder with writings on the early history of the clinic, a clinic
study, and a list of theses written between 1930 and 1937 that concern the
clinic.
Includes original newspaper clippings, notes on the Edith A
Harper Speech Research Grant, Freshman Reading Surveys from 1934 and 1953, memos
on future plans for the clinic between Dean Ernest McMahon and Anna Starr, notes
on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Gifts, brochures concerning Anna Starr and
Henry E. Starr.
Box
Folder
2
7
Clippings, 1929-1957
8
Edith A. Harper: Speech Research Grant, 1956
9
Freshmen Reading Surveys, 1934, 1953
10
McMahon, Ernest Edward: Memoranda on future of the clinic, Feb.-May, 1956
11
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Gifts, 1950-1956
12
Starr, Anna and Henry E.: Brochures, 1956, 1960, 1961
13
Starr, Henry E.: Publications, 1922-1935
14
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: Speeches and Correspondence, 1954
Includes films on Dr. Starr's testing methods on certain
patients; reel I is entitled "Jack and Rosanna as clinic helpers;" reel II,
"Paula;" reels III and IV are entitled "Barbara;" reel 5 is entitled "Joyce
Dupo.