Alberta Banner Turner

Born: 1909 in Chicago, Illinois
Died: 2008 in Hilo, Hawaii

Education

1935 First African American to receive a doctorate degree in psychology from Ohio State University.
1935-1936 Head of the home economic department at Winston-Salem College in North Carolina.
1936-1937 Professor of psychology and head of the department of Home Economics at Lincoln University in Missouri.
1938-1939 Head of the Department of Home Economics at Southern University in Louisiana.
1939 Head of the home economics department at Bennett College for Women in North Carolina.
1944 Clinician at the Ohio Bureau of Juvenile Research.
1963 Promoted to the Central Administrative Office of the Ohio Youth Commission and became the Director of Research for the Ohio Youth Commission, while teaching a variety of graduate courses at Ohio State University and being a psychologist at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
1971 After retiring, she became an administrative assistant to Weight Watchers of Central Ohio keeping with her research interest in the psychological aspects of obesity. She was also a Mary Kay cosmetics director.

Turner was the founding president of the Columbus chapter and the first national program director of The Links Inc., which has 10,000 members nationwide. She has been instrumental in establishing the Prelude Scholarship and Recognition Program, a partnership of Links, Ohio State and the Columbus Public Schools to honor minority students. Links also has funded an endowed scholarship at Ohio State to support minority students.
Turner has served as a role model and counselor for young people, especially troubled teen-agers, and she has been a pioneer for African Americans in the diagnosis and treatment of delinquent behavior.
She has been a strong advocate for racial, civil and religious rights and has worked tirelessly to ensure them for others.

1966 Named one of the "Ten Women of the Year" by the Columbus Citizen-Journal.
1971 Given a citation from the State of Ohio and the Ohio Youth Commission read, “Alberta Banner Turner, Ph.D., has been synonymous with mention of the field of juvenile rehabilitation and treatment in Ohio for over 27 years. She has played a very active role in its history”
Gamma Psi Kappa
Alpha Kappa Alpha Award for Community and Scholastic Endeavors
Pi Lambda Theta Citation
She holds Diplomat status in Clinical Psychology (ABEPP) and is certified by the Ohio Psychological Association.

“The Effects of Practice on the Perception and Memorization of Digits Presented in Single Exposure”
“The Psychologist ant the Juvenile Diagnostic Center: Past, Present and Future”