Ritch Savin-Williams

Ritch Savin-Williams (* 1949 ) is an American psychologist, author and professor of developmental psychology at Cornell University who specializes in LGBT studies. He currently holds the seat of the Department of Human Development at the university.

After completing school, Savin-Williams studied psychology and received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Missouri in 1971. He also received a master's degree in religious studies in 1973 and a Ph.D. in human development 1977 at the University of Chicago . Savin-Williams worked in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts from 1989 to 1993 and then went to the Children's Hospital of Michigan.

Savin-Williams focused his research on adolescents and young adults. He researched their sexual identity and their development, with a focus on research into sexual minorities. In addition to his research, he also ran a small private practice. Savin-Williams appeared on the US show Good Morning America and was a guest on the shows 20/20 and The Oprah Winfrey Show . Savin-Williams has acted as an expert on court cases disputing same-sex couple adoption , same-sex marriage , and the exclusion of gay men from the Boy Scouts of America organization .

Works

• The New Gay Teenager , 2005
• “Mom, Dad. I'm gay. " How Families Negotiate Coming Out , 2001
• "... and then I became gay." Young Men's Stories , 1998
• The Lives of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals: Children to Adults , 1996
• Beyond Pink and Blue: Exploring our Stereotypes of Sexuality and Gender , 1994
• Gay and Lesbian Youth: Expressions of Identity , 1990
• Adolescence: An Ethological Perspective , 1987

Awards

The American Psychological Association recognized Savin-Williams with the Division 44 Distinguished Book Award for The New Gay Teenager 2005.

Web links

• Ritch Savin-Williams' Cornell Faculty Profile
• Curriculum Vitae (PDF file; 183 kB)