Ritchie, Malcolm L.

Malcolm L. Ritchie is an expert on Engineering and Professional Psychology. He entered Texas Tech as an Engineering Student during the 1940-41 term. He earned his A.A. in 1947 from Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. In 1948, Dr. Ritchie earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1951 he earned his MA in Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1953 he earned his PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana. Dr. Ritchie was awarded an honorary Doctorate. Humane Letters from Graceland University in 2008.

Malcolm Ritchie grew up in Breckenridge, Texas, and studied engineering for one year at Texas Tech before entering Army flight training in 1941. He was a night fighter pilot in the Pacific theater during World War II, and following the war became a Graceland student in January of 1946. At Graceland he met fellow student Roberta Ann Gossadge and they were married in 1947. They continued their education together. They had three children: Karen Sue, Jennifer Kay, and William George. He continued studies at the University of California in Berkeley from 1947 to 1949, before joining the Graceland faculty. In 1951 he resumed graduate study at the University of Illinois in the new field of engineering psychology, earning the Ph.D. in 1953 and continuing on the University's research staff until 1957. He formed Ritchie Inc. in 1957 to do research and consulting on the control of machines by human operators. In that role he played a part in the development of the first three U.S. manned space vehicles.

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