John K. Bare was born on December 10, 1917 in Lexington, Missouri and died on February 12, 2001. Bare earned his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1940 and his master's degree from Brown University. Bare returned to Brown after serving in the United States Army during WWII and received a Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology in 1947.
Bare began his teaching career as an instructor at Brown University and then taught at the College of William and Mary until 1958. Bare joined the faculty at Carleton College as a professor psychology in 1958 and served as chair of the department from 1958 to 1970, and again from 1977 to 1978.
Bare's success at teaching led him to contribute his service to Division 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA) where he served as president in 1972. Bare also served as editor of the journal Teaching of Psychology . He worked to strengthen the teaching of high school psychology through his leadership of APA's Human Behavior Curriculum Project, which developed modules for high school instruction.
The John K. Bare Prize in Psychology was established in 1983 by Bare's students, colleagues, friends, and family for his many contributions to psychology and the teaching of psychology in America. This prize is awarded annually to a member of the Carleton College senior class who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the study of psychology.
From the guide to the John K. Bare papers, 1962-1978, (Center for the History of Psychology)
