Patti Lou Watkins (only her mother uses the "Lou" and that is when she's mad at her!) was born on a dark, cold snowy Sunday night in Pittsburgh, PA, January 1959. Her mother was watching the Steve Allen Show when she went into labor. Patti was born several hours later at 11:59 pm on January 25th. Patti's only complaint is that her mother did not hold off a minute longer as then Patti could have shared the same birthday with Ellen DeGeneres. Patti once had a dream that Ellen told her that she was funny, so if she weren't a tenured Associate Professor in the Women Studies Program at Oregon State University, surely she would be hosting a talk show of her own right now!
Patti grew up in Pittsburgh during the "glory years" of her beloved Steelers. She, herself, loved to play football and once threw a touchdown pass the length of the Presbyterian church parking lot. Despite her quarterbacking prowess, most of the time she was relegated to the sidelines, watching the boys play. In the summer of 1971, she was still striking out the boys in pick up games of baseball, but, in the summer of 1972, a strange thing occurred. For the first time ever, her community---like many
communities across the land---had organized sports for girls---a softball league! Something about this Title IX business. However, in perhaps what was her first feminist act, Patti refused to play because she saw slow pitch softball as something lesser than the baseball that the boys still got to play. Really-what with underhand pitching, no base stealing, and an extra player on the field?? Was this really necessary?! Nevertheless, she relented and had a respectable career for the next five years.
In 1976, it was time to head off to college down the interstate at West Virginia University in Morgantown. But what to major in? Her mother had always said that her brother, Bob, "is good at math and science" and Patti, "well, um, uh, she's good at…other things." Because there did not appear to be a major in "other things," Patti first chose to major in journalism because she wanted to be like her TV idol, Mary Tyler Moore, the first single woman depicted on television who had a genuine interest in pursuing a career more so than a marriage. Patti thought to herself, "you're gonna make it after all!" Patti didn't make it in journalism, but she did eventually find her way to Psych 101 which, unbeknownst to her at the time, was the start of her career as a Clinical Psychologist.
Patti can't recollect much about the 1980s because she was busy being a graduate student, first in the Master's Program at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, then in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. She also spent a year in Jackson, MS at the University of Mississippi Medical Center & VA Medical Center completing her internship. Then, she spent three years in St. Louis, MO doing an NHLBI postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University Medical Center. At that point, the '80s were winding down, and she headed off to her first academic position in the Psychology Department at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. While Patti found she loved living in the Pacific Northwest, she decided that the grass was greener (and it is!) on the west side of the Cascades. So, in 1993, Patti, like Lewis and Clark---and let's not forget Sacagawea---before her, continued to head west. She got as far as Corvallis, OR where she began her position as Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to the Psychology Department. One day, about five years ago, Patti made a left turn and ended up in the Women Studies Program where she is now a tenured Associate Professor. Patti is still teaching classes near and dear to her training in Psychology, but now from a feminist perspective. Recently, she has taught Women, Weight, & Eating Disorders, Self-Esteem & Personal Power, and Violence Against Women. Patti's research has been in the areas of Type A behavior and Panic Disorder in which she has focused on gender issues. M
ore recently, she has examined eating disorders, physical activity, and weight bias in larger women. Currently, she is co-editing a book called the Handbook of Self-Help Therapies.
When she is not working, Patti enjoys hiking, biking, swimming, and kayaking. She does not enjoy bowling, but she does it almost every Sunday with her mother anyway. Patti likes traveling and taking photos of her adventures. Her claim to fame is summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in December 2004. Patti also likes raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens---especially the latter, though her remaining cat, Quentin, is now 17 years old. Patti's favorite colors are purple and red (and she says, "they do so go together!") and her favorite absence of color is black. She likes her KFC regular recipe and her martinis with vodka, preferably vanilla vodka.