Dr. Paul A. Witty

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page including photograph; biography of Paul Andrew Witty, leading child psychologist. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference.Dr. Paul A. Wittyniversally regarded as one of the nations leading child psychologists, Terre Haute native Paul Andrew Witty earned national acclaim as a creative educator, lecturer, writer and as the coach of The Quiz Kids on early television. The youngest child of William L. and Margaret (Kerr) Witty, Paul was born July 23, 1898, at 1423 Poplar St. His father worked for American Telephone & Telegraph. When older brother Raymond died of pneumonia on April 2, 1906, at age 9, the family was residing at 1603 North Seventh St. After graduating from Wiley High School in 1916, Paul enrolled at Indiana State Normal and was active in the Forum social fraternity. During his senior year, 1919-20, he was fraternity secretary. Meanwhile, the Witty family relocated to the Hotel Tuller in the Ohio Building at 670 Ohio St., which has been recently renovated. The 1920 census and Terre Haute city directories for 1921 through 1923 list young Witty as the hotel manager, while his father is hotel clerk.UIn 1923 Paul received a masters degree in education from Columbia University and accepted a faculty position at the University of Kansas, where he founded a PsychoEducational Clinic. In 1930--a year before he was awarded a Ph.D. from Columbia-- he became professor of education at Northwestern University. Soon after relocating to Evanston, he founded and served as director of the Northwestern Psycho-Educational Clinic, which focused on the study and understanding of gifted children. Before joining the Army during World War II, Witty worked with radio station WLS to establish The Quiz Kids radio show and, after the war, was associated as a coach with the Chicagobased NBC television show by that name. In 1940 he became chief educational consultant for D.C. Heath & Co., textbook publishers, a title he retained for 36 years. Before becoming professor emeritus at Northwestern in 1966, Witty wrote approximately 50 books and many more scholarly articles on modern education and the psychology of education. In 1961 he was recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana State. Before his death July 22, 1976, he established a scholarship for ISU graduate students interested in the education of gifted children. He also created a trust fund to finance the Paul Witty Fellowship at Northwestern for graduate students interested in literacy. Dr. Witty was editor of many books and periodicals published by the International Reading Association (IRA), a special interest group he co-founded to study gifted and creative children. In 1961 the IRA presented him with a Citation of Merit and has named two special awards in his honor. Since 1986 the annual Paul A. Witty Short Story Award has been given to the author of an original short story published during the preceding year in a childrens periodical. The 2005 winner was Karen OConnor, author of Free at Last! A Kurdish Family in America, which appeared in Highlights for Children. The IRA also administers the Paul A. Witty Outstanding Literature Award to recognize excellent original prose or poetry written by elementary and secondary students nationwide.Always Close to Home812-238-6000EQUAL HOUSING LENDER MEMBER FDICARTS ILLIANA SUMMERTIME CONCERT SERIES Sponsored by First Financial Bank & Rave SalonJune10thBring your lunch & catch the jazzy sound of the EZ STREET BAND N o o n to 1:30 p.m. Crossroads Plaza Stage (in front of parking garage on Wabash)Live Music LunchTHE FIRST IN A SERIES OF CONCERTSFile name: Dr. Paul A. Witty profileDate Published: June 9, 2005
Origin:	2005-06-22
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/651
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Witty, Paul Andrew, 1898-1976 Gifted children Special education Psychology Child psychology People Education

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