Herman George Canady
Herman George Canady
(1901-1970)
Canady was born in October 9, 1901 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, to Rev. Howard T and Mrs. Anna Canady. He attended Douglass Elementary School and Favor High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He graduated from the high school at George R. Smith College in Sedalia, Missouri in 1922. In 1923, Canady enrolled in the Northwestern University Theological School as a Charles F. Grey scholarship student, where he developed an interest in the behavioral sciences and majored in sociology. He began his education with the hopes of becoming a minister, however, after graduating in 1927 with a sociology major and a psychology minor, he continued his behavioral science studies at Northwestern, where he earned an M.A. in clinical psychology.
Education:
1927 B.A. sociology and a minor in psychology from Northwestern University
1928 M.A. clinical psychology from Northwestern University
1941 Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University
In September 1928, Canady’s career began when Francis Sumner left the position of chair of the psychology department at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute (now West Virginia State College). From 1936 to 1939, as chair of the psychology department at West Virginia, Canady conducted and published a plethora of socio-psychological studies. As a psychologist, one of his most monumental contributions was examining the role of the examiner or proctor in IQ testing. Canady's article in the Journal of Negro Education, titled "The Effect of 'rapport' on the I.Q.: A new approach to the problem of racial psychology", reported his findings in this area (that rapport between the examiner and the test-taker can have a significant impact on the results of the test) and offered suggestions to improve the situation.
In 1939, a General Education Board fellowship allowed Canady to take a leave of absence from West Virginia to go back to Northwestern to complete his Ph.D. in psychology. After earning his doctorate in 1941, Canady returned to West Virginia as chairman, continuing his work as a psychologist.
Outside of his accomplishments at West Virginia, Canady also taught as a visiting lecturer at schools and colleges in collaboration with the American Friends Committee in 1946. In 1947, he acted as a consultant for the Pacific Coast Council on Intercultural Education and Intercultural Projects in the San Diego School system. From 1948-1953 he worked part-time as a clinical psychologist for the Mental Health Unit at the Veterans Administration in Huntington, West Virginia, and from 1947-1968 he worked at the West Virginia Bureau of Mental Hygiene.
Canady was also honored as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He was a member of the American Teachers Association, the American Association of University Professors, the West Virginia State Psychological Association, the West Virginia Academy of Science, and the West Virginia State Teachers Association.
Canady retired from West Virginia State University in 1968, after forty years as chair of the psychology department.