UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEPARTMENT
OF HOME ECONOMICS
RECORDS (1913-1991)
2.7 linear feet
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ACQUISITION: |
The records (donor no. 168 ) were
transferred from the |
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ACCESS: |
The records are open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been
transferred to the |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Bridgett Williams-Searle,
1999.
Revisions by Heather Stecklein, 2002 [UIHomeEconomicsDept.doc] |
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History
From 1913 to 1991, the
Ruth Aimee Wardall, the
first woman to hold a Master of Arts in Foods from the
Under Wardall’s leadership,
the Department had an impact beyond the campus as well. During World War I, the
Home Economics Department added a special foods training course for nurses.
Junior and senior women helped to train Red Cross volunteers and made “cootie
suits” to keep the
Wardall’s successor, Helen
Pope, presided over a thriving department. Summer School was especially
popular; these accelerated courses provided training for rural secondary school
teachers who were required by law to teach Home Economics. Established home
economists from across the state could update their skills or form professional
networks while mingling with beginning students. Although Pope only served two
years as Chair, the department offered Summer Session coursework until its
termination. Frequent changes among the junior faculty, overcrowded classrooms,
and a lack of continuity in administration began to affect student morale.
These problems would have to be faced squarely by the next administrator.
Frances Zuill, who served as
department chair from 1923-1939, stressed the dual goals of community service
and academic excellence. At her urging, the Department began to offer graduate
work. She also encouraged faculty members to pursue the doctorate, an unusual
attainment among home economics educators at the time. Zuill was responsible
for instituting the Alumnae newsletter and the campus-wide Christmas dinner,
two of the activities that characterized the Home Economics Department in the
minds of graduates of the era. The Zuill administration was a golden time for
the Home Economics Department. Zuill herself was president of the American Home
Economics Association. Another faculty member, Mate Giddings, was national
president of Omicron Nu (home economics honorary society). Superior educators
like Edna Hill, Alice Brigham, Ione Hosman, Merle Ford, and Lula Smith joined
the faculty during Zuill’s tenure as chair. Additionally, the department moved
to more spacious renovated quarters in McBride Hall. When Zuill departed to
chair the Home Economics department at the
Under Dr. Sybil Woodruff,
head of the department from 1940 to 1955, the Home Economics Department
developed a national reputation for its work in the fields of dietetics and
nutrition. Students worked closely with Dr. Kate Daum (Director of Nutrition at
the University Hospitals until 1955), Dr. W. A. Tuttle, and Dr. Genevieve
Stearns. The Iowa Breakfast Studies, joint research conducted by the
Dr. Floy Eugenia Whitehead,
department chair from 1955 to 1971, presided over Home Economics during a time of
great change in American society. The department continued to stress "dual
career" training for women, acknowledging that most women would marry and
raise children as well as pursue employment outside the home. Whitehead's
academic excellence in the field of nutrition set the tone for the department;
she encouraged all faculty members to explore professional development
opportunities. Yet, research had to be subordinate to quality teaching; the
department firmly believed that hands-on learning, rather than
“indoctrination,” better served the civic mission of their discipline and the
nation. Classes continued to grow throughout the 1960s and graduate study
(particularly in the areas of nutrition and textiles) substantially increased.
Dr. Sara Wolfson presided
over the Home Economics department from 1972-1989. Under her tenure, the
department’s faculty received accreditation from the American Home Economics
Association and was rated as one of the top ten departments in the nation. A
major renovation of department facilities was completed in 1985. There were
signs, however, that Liberal Arts administrators did not support the department
as enthusiastically as these accomplishments seemed to merit. Professors
continued to share office space, the only faculty members in the Liberal Arts
required to do so. When professors retired, the money to hire replacements was
slow in coming. The size of the teaching staff diminished; qualified faculty
were hard to find due to a national shortage of Home Economics graduates with
advanced degrees. Those with the desired skills could find higher salaries
elsewhere. Remaining professors had to bear a heavier load of teaching and
advising, with some diminution of their research activities. The department
began to rely more heavily on teaching assistants and temporary or adjunct
personnel to teach classes. As the university positioned itself to become a
premier research institution, those Home Economics faculty members whose
strengths lay in the quality of their teaching and mentorship abilities
perceived themselves to be undervalued in a system that increasingly assessed
scholarly worth by examining one’s publication record. Those faculty members
appointed to the textile and design branches of the department also noted that
their exhibition work, while professional in nature, was not considered
tenure-worthy under the guidelines set forth by the
Dr. Carolyn Lara-Braud took
over as the chair of the department during its valiant, but ultimately
fruitless, battle against termination. Administrators reacted to the deep
economic distress produced by the 1980s farm crisis by eliminating all
perceived duplications at
Scope and Content Note
The
The Administrative
Records series (1913-1989) includes the bulk of the collection and details
the activities of the
The Alumnae newsletters and bulletins subseries (1928-1988)
contains multi-page reports on departmental affairs and alumnae news. It is
organized according to departmental chair.
The American Home Economics Association accreditation subseries (1982-1989)
chronicles the department's bid for accreditation by the national organization
for home economics professionals and its subsequent consent to withdrawal of
accreditation when circumstances surrounding the termination process made
sustaining its credentials impossible.
The Biennium Request subseries (1961-1971) contains the
department’s formal reports of activities to the University every two years. In
addition to reporting activities, these requests detailed plans for further
development and the resulting financial needs.
The Catalogs and university
publications subseries (1914-1969, scattered) contains catalogs promoting
the department's course offerings. Summer school catalogs are also included. A
1913 university bulletin highlighting educational opportunities for women at
the State University of Iowa offers an illustrated guide to campus life.
The Departmental expense accounts subseries (1913-1922) contains records of
materials and expenses incurred by the Home Economics department in its first
decade of existence, including supplemental payroll information.
The Publicity
subseries (1940-1984) consists of published materials released by the
department for promotion. It includes departmental newsletters, press releases,
brochures, and newspaper clippings.
The Student Research
subseries (1974, 1984) contains one thesis by Rosemary Wilmoth on the subject
of perceptions of women’s managerial skills (1984) and one directed study by
Suzanne Dziurawiec Haines on the subject of infant nutrition in Iowa City
(1974).
The Departmental self-studies
subseries (1975, 1986) offers the department’s in-depth review of its
activities in 1975 and 1986.
The Termination of department subseries (1987-1989) includes
materials relating to the internal and external review of the Home Economics
department from 1987-1989. Of particular interest are copies of internal and
external review reports, exchanges between departmental faculty and Dean
Gerhard Loewenberg concerning the conduct of an external referee during his
campus visit, and a vigorous faculty rebuttal of the findings of the external
review report.
The Thesis subseries (1932-1968) contains lists of thesis titles
in the field of home economics from both the
The Activities series (1942-1970) provides information on the
various activities in which the faculty and students in the department
participated. The series includes materials from old Days, the department’s
bean supper, departmental workshops, exhibits, field trips, and student meetings.
The department’s fiftieth anniversary is well represented in the series. The
fiftieth anniversary folder in the series contains publications from the
celebration and the transcript of the humorous play “Fifty liberal years” that
was staged in honor of the anniversary.
The series contains a Conference proceedings subseries
(1942, 1964, 1965) which consists of the published materials that accompanied
conferences hosted by the University of Iowa Home Economics department on the
topics of nutrition, textiles, and social gerontology.
The Courses series (1963-1972)
contains course materials from a team taught research methods class in
1964-1965. In addition, the series includes the department’s lists of course
schedules from 1963 until 1972.
The Facilities series
(1945-1970) includes the department’s information on equipment fabric
collections, slide collections, TV films, and office space needs. In addition,
it provides information on the remodeling of Macbride hall that took place in
1981.
The Faculty series (1933-1984) gives researchers
information on some of the faculty members that served the department during
its existence. The series is divided by faculty member and contains research
publications and manuscripts produced by department faculty along with a few
biographies, photographs, and press releases.
Chairs of the
Ruth Aimee Wardall 1913-1922
Helen Pope 1922-1923
Dr. Frances Zuill 1923-1939
Mate Giddings 1939-1940
Dr. Sybil Woodruff 1940-1955
Dr. Eugenia Whitehead 1955-1971
Dr. Sara Wolfson 1972-1988
Dr. Carolyn Lara-Braud 1989-1991
Related Collections
Margaret Keyes papers
Floy Eugenia Whitehead
papers
Harriet Stevens papers