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Hooker (Evelyn C.) papers
LSC.0523  
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Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance/Source of Acquisition
  • UCLA Catalog Record ID
  • Processing Information
  • Biography
  • Expanded Biographical Narrative
  • Scope and Content
  • Expanded Scope and Content
  • Organization and Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
    Title: Evelyn Caldwell Hooker papers
    Creator: Hooker, Evelyn Caldwell, 1907-1996
    Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0523
    Physical Description: 9.5 linear feet (13 boxes, 2 cartons, and 1 oversize box)
    Date (inclusive): 1910-1997
    Abstract: Evelyn Gentry (1907-1996) was born in North Platte, Nebraska, and grew up near Sterling, Colorado. She joined the psychology faculty at UCLA University Extension in 1939. In 1954, she received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for a comparative study of the pathology of homosexual and heterosexual males. In 1970, she retired from UCLA and began private practice as a psychotherapist. The collection consists of publications, manuscripts, correspondence, books, lectures and speeches, biographical materials, obituary and memorial tributes, diplomas and certificate, awards, appointment calendars, photographs, memorabilia, and the American Psychological Foundation 1991-93 annual report.
    Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

    Conditions Governing Use

    Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

    Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

    CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains processed audiovisual materials. All requests to access digital materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Evelyn Caldwell Hooker papers (Collection 523). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Provenance/Source of Acquisition

    Gift of Joseph Carrier, 1996.

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 9942331633606533 

    Processing Information

    Processed by Russell A. Johnson, May 1998.
    Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
    We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's library collections and archives. 

    Biography

    Evelyn Gentry was born on September 2, 1907 in North Platte, Nebraska, and grew up near Sterling, Colorado; awarded bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from University of Colorado; Ph.D in psychology, Johns Hopkins University; joined psychology faculty at UCLA University Extension in 1939; after her marriage to Donn Caldwell, she married UCLA English professor Edward Niles Hooker in 1951; in 1954 she received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for a comparative study of the pathology of homosexual and heterosexual males; her 1957 paper, The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual, reported little statistical difference; chaired NIMH Task Force on Homosexuality in 1967, which issued what came to be called the Hooker Report in 1969; retired from UCLA in 1970, and began private practice as a psychotherapist; awarded the Distinguished Contributions to Psychology career achievement award from the American Psychological Association in 1992; in the same year, she chaired the establishment of the Wayne Placek Fund, an endowment administered by the American Psychological Foundation to support research in homosexuality; she died on November 18, 1996 in Santa Monica, California.

    Expanded Biographical Narrative

    Evelyn Hooker was born Evelyn Gentry in North Platte, Nebraska on 2 September 1907 and grew up near Sterling, Colorado. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. in psychology at The Johns Hopkins University. She joined the Psychology faculty of the University Extension at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939. Following her marriage to Donn Cadwell, she was married to Edward Niles Hooker, an English literature professor at UCLA, from 1951 until his death in 1951.
    In 1954, Hooker received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct a comparative study of the pathology of homosexual and heterosexual males. Her controversial 1957 paper, The Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual, reported little statistical difference in the test results of the two groups of subjects. By the late 1960s Hooker was recognized as an authority in the psychology of homosexual behavior. In 1967 she the NIMH Task Force on Homosexuality which in 1969 issued what came to be referred to as the Hooker Report.
    Dr. Hooker retired from UCLA in 1970 and entered private practice as a psychotherapist. She received numerous awards and honors from professional societies, such as the Distinguished Contributions to Psychology career achievement award in 1992 from the American Psychological Association, as well as gay and lesbian organizations, including serving as grand marshal of the Christopher Street West Gay Pride Parade in 1986. In 1992 she chaired the establishment of the Wayne Placek Fund, an endowment administered by the American Psychological Foundation to support research in homosexuality. The 1993 film, Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker, received a nomination as Best Documentary Feature by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Evelyn Hooker died on November 18, 1996 at her home in Santa Monica, California.

    Scope and Content

    Collection consists of publications, manuscripts, correspondence, books, lectures and speeches, biographical materials, obituary and memorial tributes, diplomas and certificate, awards, appointment calendars, photographs, memorabilia, and the American Psychological Foundation 1991-93 annual report.

    Expanded Scope and Content

    The papers of Evelyn Hooker span the years 1910-1997. Included are obituaries and memorials, photographs, correspondence, manuscripts, lectures, publications, newspaper and magazine clippings, tributes and awards, and autographed and inscribed books which offer a very incomplete Her personal and family life are highlighted by material from her high school yearbook and material about her husband, Edward Niles Hooker. A partial set of publications and manuscripts include many popular press items which are not listed on her curriculum vitae, which focuses on her handful of peer-reviewed publications. Manuscripts of lectures and speeches derive mostly from the 1980s; several were written as long acceptance remarks and commentaries upon the receipt of some of her many awards and honors. Almost all the photographs are snapshot portraits of Hooker and her friends (including Joseph Carrier, David Haugland, and her Cabinet: Linda Garnets, Jackie Goodchilds, and Anne Peplau) throughout the 1990s. The correspondence, though sparse, is supplemented by a large number of autographed monographs, many with long inscriptions. The most notable lacunae in this collection are Hooker's research and patient notes, which she promised her subjects and patients she would shred; she followed through on her promise in the 1980s.

    Organization and Arrangement

    Arranged in the following series:
    1. Obituaries and memorial tributes.
    2. Autobiographical and biographical material.
    3. Education and licensure.
    4. Family.
    5. Photographs.
    6. Tributes and awards.
    7. Lectures and speeches.
    8. Manuscripts.
    9. Publications.
    10. Correspondence.
    11. Wayne Placek Fund.
    12. Appointment calendars.
    13. Information files.
    14. Books.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Hooker, Edward Niles