Doctor Ruth Shonle Cavan: A Sketch of Her Life in Research and Writing

SCOPE AND CONTENT This collection contains publications written by Ruth Shonle Cavan from 1924 to 1979.  Included are papers Dr. Cavan presented before professional societies and several articles published in sociological journals.  In addition, published works in several editions are included: Suicide (1928); Building a Girl's Personality (1932); The Adolescent in the Family (1934); The Family and the Depression (1938); The Family (1942); Criminology (1948; revisions, 1955, 1962); Personal Adjustment in Old Age (1949); The American Family (1953; revisions, 1963, 1969); American Marriage (1959); Marriage and Family in the Modern World; A Book of Readings (1960; revisions, 1965, 1969); Juvenile Delinquency (1962; revision 1969); Readings in Juvenile Delinquency (1964; revision, 1969); Delinquency and Crime; Cross-Cultural Perspectives (1968); Communes Historical and Contemporary (1979). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Born in 1896, Ruth Shonle Cavan earned the Ph.B. (1921), M.A. (1923), and Ph.D. (1926) degrees from the University of Chicago.  After completing her doctoral work in sociology, Dr. Cavan worked on the staff of the Religious Education Association in Chicago, Illinois (1926-1930), and attended a White House Conference on children, assisting the Sub-Committee on the Function of Home Activities in the Education of a Child (1930). By 1935 Professor Cavan joined the faculty at Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois, and in subsequent years became Professor Emeritus of Sociology. During most of her academic career, Professor Cavan was active in national and international organizations concerned with the study of significant social disorders.  She held the following positions: Research Assistant in a joint study program between University of Chicago and Institute for Juvenile Research (1934-36); Staff member of American Youth Commission, American Council on Education, 1939-40; Assistant District Supervisor, Work Progress Administration, 1941-42; Research Associate, Sub-Committee on Social Adjustment in Old Age, Social Science Research Council, 1944-46; Research Associate, Committee on Human Development, University of Chicago, 1944-1945.  In 1964, Professor Cavan came to Northern Illinois University as a distinguished teacher, writer and social scientist.  She retired from the University in 1971 and continued to contribute to her discipline and her community in research and writing until her death in September, 1993. Author of research reports and textbooks on the family and criminology Ruth Cavan published more than seventy articles in professional journals.  She was a member of the American Sociological Association, the Midwest Sociological Association (President 1960-61), the Illinois Sociological Association, the National Council on Family Relations (Board member), Illinois Council on Family Relations (President 1965), the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, the Illinois Academy of Criminology, the American Society of Criminology, the International Society of Criminology, and the National Historical Communal Societies Association (Board Member, 1975-1979).