Janis Bohan

Janis S. Bohan was born on March 5, 1945 to Fern and Marion Beebe in Denver, Colorado. Janis was the third of four Beebe girls: Judith Ann, Mary Jeanne, Janis, and Karen Jill. Janis was a bright and adventurous child who pursued schoolwork and athletic interests with equal zeal. In 1963, she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School; her time there included a semester abroad in Germany, where she became fluent in the first of several languages. Janis received a scholarship to the University of Denver, where she majored in psychology and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1967. She then pursued graduate work in developmental psychology at the University of Rochester. Shortly after earning her doctorate in 1970, Janis began teaching in the psychology department at (now) Metropolitan State University of Denver. She loved teaching, especially the students at Metro. She received numerous teaching awards not only from her department but also from the Society for the Psychology of Women of the American Psychological Association. During much of her time at Metro, Janis was in a relationship with Ann Cook, with whom she pursued grand adventures in various locations, but always with an eye to red-rock country in Southern Utah. Janis' interest in the role of women in the history of psychology resulted in books, articles and presentations. However, Janis' life changed dramatically when Colorado voters passed the anti-LGB Amendment 2 in 1992. At that point, she emerged from the invisibility of the closet and changed her academic and research interests to LGBTQ studies, pursuing this topic with her typical dedication by designing one of the first psychology of sexual orientation courses and authoring one of the first textbooks on this subject. She also co-wrote, with Glenda Russell, whom she later married, a volume to address the philosophical issues underlying notions of gender and sexuality. The two also shared a 2003 Distinguished Professional Contribution Award from the Society for Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, a division of the American Psychological Association. Janis retired as a full professor in 2000 after 30 years at Metro. While remaining physically active, she also pursued volunteer and activist work in programs with foci as diverse as disabled skiing, rural recycling, political campaigns, queer history, a women's chorus, voting rights, indigenous people's rights, safe schools, elders in the LGBTQ community, community radio and, during her final illness, postcard writing for political campaigns.