Ritch C. Savin-Williams, Ph.D, (born 1949) is a professor of developmental psychology at Cornell University who specializes in gay, lesbian, and bisexual research. He is currently the chair of the Department of Human Development at Cornell.
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Savin-Williams earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Missouri in 1971. He later earned an MA in Religious Studies in 1973 and a Ph.D in Human Development in 1977 from the University of Chicago. Savin-Williams retrained in Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts from 1989 to 1993 before completing his residency at Children's Hospital of Michigan.
Dr. Savin-Williams' research focuses on adolescent and young adult sexual identity development and sexual minority populations. In addition to his research, he operates a small private practice.
Savin-Williams has appeared on Good Morning America and served as a consultant for 20/20 and the Oprah Winfrey Show.
In addition, Savin-Williams has served as an expert witness in court cases about gay adoption, same-sex marriage, sodomy laws, and the exclusion of gays in the Boy Scouts of America.
Savin-Williams has written and edited numerous books on adolescence and sexual orientation:
The American Psychological Association awarded Savin-Williams the Division 44 Distinguished Book Award for The New Gay Teenager in 2005.